Research on Chinese Prose Poetry: Theoretical Construction of a New Literary Genre in the Context of Modern Chinese

Author: Huang Yongjian
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Huang Yongjian has put in hard work in his research on prose poems. He has collected nearly all the monographs and papers on prose poems published so far and has carefully studied them, absorbing ideas and viewpoints that he considers academically valuable as the foundation and reference for his own reflections on the historical development and stylistic evolution of prose poems. The Study of Chinese Prose Poems is divided into two parts, "History" and "Theory." The subtitle "Theoretical Construction of a New Genre of Modern Chinese Prose Poems" defines the author's research subject and approach, with the key terms being "modern Chinese context," "new genre," and "theoretical construction."
The first part consists of six chapters, outlining the history of Chinese prose poems in six periods (sections), including: prose poems of the 1920s; the 1930s and 1940s; the 1950s and 1960s; the 1980s and 1990s; prose poems from Taiwan; and prose poems from Hong Kong. The author combines the historical trajectory to provide a detailed account of the development of prose poems in different periods and regions. He has given new exploration and evaluation to some prose poem writers and works that have received little attention in literary history, such as Liu Banrong, Xu Yuno, Gao Changhong, Jiao Juyin, Li Jinfa, and Xu Zhimo, among whom he focuses on their artistic and ideological qualities as well as their positions in the history of Chinese prose poems. Due to his close connections with poets from Taiwan and Hong Kong, the author has access to a wealth of poetic materials, making his discussion on the development of prose poems in these regions particularly distinctive. For mainland readers and scholars, this part holds considerable historical and artistic value.
While writing The Theory of Prose Poem Genre, although I referred to the works of many Chinese and foreign poets, I generally placed more emphasis on "theory" and provided only a sketchy outline of the "history," particularly focusing on the development of prose poems since the new period. There is a dedicated chapter on Taiwan and Hong Kong prose poems, but due to limited materials at the time, it relied heavily on selected anthologies and scattered publications, resulting in a rather thin discussion and insufficient depth in revealing the artistic characteristics of Taiwan and Hong Kong prose poems. Professor Huang Yongjian's research on the development of Taiwan and Hong Kong prose poems has significantly supplemented the content of my small book and should greatly help us gain a more comprehensive understanding of the overall characteristics of Chinese prose poems.
The second part primarily explores the stylistic features of prose poems, also divided into six chapters, covering: (1) the essence of prose poems, where the author argues that the essence of poetry includes emotion, meaning, truth, and thought, while the essence of modern poetry is "vertically advancing modern emotions and emotional states," and the essence of modern prose poems is "expansive and divergent modern emotions and emotional states"; (2) the form and generation of prose poems; (3) the structure of prose poems, which the author divides into three main types: flat combinations of emotional modules, three-dimensional cross-combinations, and network-like combinations. He points out that "modern free-verse poetry and prose poems share the same essence of modern human emotions and emotional states, so as long as humans continue to live in a modern environment, the two will coexist as modern literary forms for expressing emotions and thoughts. However, from the perspective of expression, prose poems are more suitable for portraying the subconscious scenarios of modern humans, achieving the level of poetic contemplation with a calling function as Heidegger described, where emotional flows shift unpredictably, consciousness waves fluctuate, and the network-like and three-dimensional psychological patterns and structures are fully unfolded and presented in prose poems, making it more reasonable and more conducive to achieving an ideal heterogeneity among the author, text, and reader"; (4) the language of prose poems, which has three main features: natural fluency, abstract and ethereal quality, and melodic and chaotic rhythms; (5) the aesthetic functions of prose poems, including metaphor, symbolism, irony, self-examination, and criticism; (6) the status of prose poems as a genre, from the perspectives of diachronic and synchronic stylistics, exploring the position of prose poems in the development of stylistics. Based on the current attention to prose poems, the author concludes that "prose poems as an independent genre in contemporary literary circles have gained widespread recognition" and that "the stylistic status of prose poems is being elevated." He expresses confidence in the future of prose poems: "In the coming years, prose poems will continue to develop as an independent poetic form in the post-modern era, coexisting alongside modern poetry. The more prose poems their critical, reflective, and ironic aesthetic qualities and artistic orientation, the better they can maintain their stylistic advantages, consolidate their constituent elements, and, while preserving their essential stylistic elements, absorb and assimilate secondary factors from other genres to enrich their expressive means and stylistic forms. Prose poems have the potential to make a greater voice in modern China and produce significant works." These arguments are insightful.
In his discussion, the author incorporates a wealth of research findings from previous scholars, including poets and scholars from Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as contributions from other disciplines, reflecting his well-rounded knowledge structure and lending credibility to his viewpoints. The academic approach demonstrated in The Study of Chinese Prose Poems is also commendable. In past literary research, "history" and "theory" were often separated. Works focused on history often confined themselves to materials, making it difficult to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of a genre, while some theory-based works detached themselves from historical context, even from the historical facts of literary development, leading to subjective and arbitrary conclusions, which could harm literary creation and research. In reality, the study of poetry (and indeed all literary research) cannot escape the dual constraints of "history" and "theory." The former represents the historical facts of poetic development and is the foundation for literary research; any imagination or reasoning must be based on it. The latter summarizes the artistic laws of poetry, refining and theoretically elevating the "history." Only by combining "history" and "theory" can poetry research achieve both factual and innovative academic goals and truly advance the progress of poetry and poetics. In this regard, Professor Huang Yongjian's research exemplifies a rigorous and innovative academic approach, which is the cornerstone of his success and will also serve as the guarantee for his ongoing academic exploration.
Among the various literary genres today, prose poems are just a small form, a branch of modern poetry. However, due to their unique pastoral characteristics, they are also one of the most suitable genres for expressing the psychological needs of modern people. The study of prose poems, to some extent, meets the psychological needs of modern people and reflects a form of humanistic care for them. Academia has already achieved considerable results in the study of prose poems, but compared to the development of prose poems throughout the 20th century, it still falls short, and there are many topics to be explored. For example, we still lack a systematic history of the development of prose poems; we do not have a history of theoretical and critical studies of prose poems; apart from's Wild Grass, we lack monographs dedicated to individual prose poem writers; and we do not have works that compare Chinese and foreign prose poems, among others. Professor Huang Yongjian's achievements in the study of prose poems demonstrate his capabilities. As someone who also loves prose poems and has done some work in this area, I look forward to his even more fruitful contributions to the study of prose poems, truly advancing the creation and research of this genre.