Beyond the Divide -- Popular Fiction During the War of Resistance: The Youth Scholar Series from Peking University

Author: Kong Qingdong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-07-01
Features: The book emphasizes historical description while being cautious with conclusions, avoiding dogmatism and haste. For example, in Chapter, given that popular fiction still lacks a universally accepted definition, the author adopts an objective historical narrative to derive three characteristics of popular fiction—"communicating with the masses," "easy to understand," and "entertainment and leisure"—which are more easily recognized by academia. Second, the author excels at making theoretical generalizations from complex and vast literary materials, demonstrating a remarkable ability to master the material rather than being mastered by it. For instance, by citing extensive historical facts, the author points out the "complex interactive relationship" between popular fiction and highbrow fiction during the War of Resistance, concluding that "a new path has been explored." Similarly, the author identifies the "interface zone" between highbrow and popular literature, often reflecting "the overall improvement of a nation's literary level." Additionally, the author proposes that "the aesthetic quality and artistic level of fiction are unrelated to whether it is highbrow or popular," suggesting that popular fiction is not inherently inferior and serious fiction is not necessarily superior; these arguments are very well-founded. Chapter 6 discusses the mutual penetration and intricate development of different types of popular fiction during the War of Resistance (romance, martial arts, detective, humor, etc)—what the author calls "synthesis and deepening"—and is particularly creative, making it highly engaging to read. Third, the author possesses strong artistic perception and comprehension skills, presenting sharp and insightful conclusions in vivid and lively language. For example, in Chapter 5, analyzing the characteristics of the novels of Zhao Shuli, Xu Hu, and Eileen Chang from the perspective of highbrow and popular interaction, the author points out that Zhao Shuli's novels are "outwardly popular, inwardly refined," Xu Hu and Anonymous's works "mask the vulgar with the petite," and Eileen Chang's novels are "both highly refined and popular." Her "elegance and vulgarity are as inseparable as fire and fuel, blade and edge, form and shadow," which can be considered extremely precise.