Song of Youth -- A Collection of Contemporary Chinese Novels

Author: Yang Mo
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-02-01
Features: From the founding of the People's Republic of China to 1966, it was a peak period for the creation and publication of long novels in China. Over a decade, a large number of works were produced, among which dozens had a wide impact and reached the height of their time. These works adhered to the principles of socialist realism, using heartfelt enthusiasm and a simple artistic style to celebrate the arduous struggles and vibrant spirit of the Chinese people during different historical periods such as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the construction of socialism. They represented the highest achievements of long novel creation during that period and hold an extremely important position in the history of contemporary Chinese literature. With their unique charm, they have influenced generations of readers and have stood the test of time. To present a more complete picture of the development of contemporary long novels and the state of long novel creation during that period, we have specially compiled and published the series "Collected Masterpieces of Contemporary Chinese Long Novels."
I. The series is based on the "Selected Long Novels" published by our press in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the "Red Classics" series published in the 1990s, and strives to include as many outstanding works as possible.
II. The publication dates of the works in the series are mostly between 1949 and 1965, with some multi-volume works whose publication processes extended beyond this period.
III. Due to various reasons, some works have had multiple revised editions. For this publication, we have selected the superior versions and conducted proofreading in reference to other editions.
The Song of Youth is an outstanding long novel in the history of contemporary literature that depicts student movements and portrays the image of revolutionary intellectuals. The author, Yang Mo, was born into a declining landlord family in Beijing. She taught in places like Ding County, Hebei, and later worked as a private tutor and bookstore clerk in Beijing. During this time, she came into contact with Marxist-Leninist thought and joined the Communist Party. Her personal life experiences had a significant impact on her writing. The Song of Youth is set against the historical backdrop of the period from the "September 18th Incident" to the "December 9th Movement," with student movements as its main thread, successfully shaping the typical image of Lin Daojing, a revolutionary youth who awakened and grew in the 1930s.
Lin Daojing was born into a wealthy landlord family and was a high school graduate. To resist the constraints of her feudal family, she decisively left and sought a livelihood alone in Beidaihe. After experiencing a series of setbacks and blows, she became despondent about her future. At this moment, Yu Yongze, who appeared in her eyes as a "knight and poet," entered her life and became her companion. However, Lin Daojing, who longed for an "independent life" and to be a "free person," was not satisfied with being a homemaker for Yu Yongze. Her sympathy for the lower laboring classes created a rift in her relationship with the selfish and self-centered Yu Yongze; Yu Yongze's opportunistic behavior also made her see the true nature of this selfish and mediocre man. More crucially, through her interactions with revolutionaries like Lu Jiachuan, the new world of revolution made her feel even more alienated from Yu Yongze. Finally, Lin Daojing broke free from the shackles of petty bourgeois emotions, left Yu Yongze, and resolutely embarked on the path of revolution. She participated in demonstrations, distributed leaflets, and rallied the masses to join the movement for national salvation against Japanese aggression, enduring the trials of prison and, in the end, advancing forward with the revolutionary forces against the enemy's water cannons and broadswords.
The novel vividly depicts the winding and fluctuating life journey of Lin Daojing as she gradually grows from a petty bourgeois intellectual into an proletarian revolutionary fighter, revealing the arduous path traversed by an entire generation of revolutionary intellectuals. In addition to Lin Daojing, the novel also portrays a large number of characters with distinct characteristics of the era, including martyrs who sacrificed for national liberation, lackeys of the ruling class who sought advancement through opportunism, as well as traitors, spies, and youth who willingly fell into decline. The spiritual states of these diverse characters are showcased, giving the novel a broad and rich historical context.
In terms of artistic features, the entire work has a grand structure and a complex, twisting plot. When portraying characters, the author avoids simplistic and one-sided treatments, instead delving into the inner world of the protagonists with a delicate touch, authentically depicting their psychology and comprehensively capturing their multiple dimensions, thereby endowing the work with strong artistic appeal.