The elegant scholar Liang Shiqiu

Author: Liu Yansheng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In discussing "the elevation of emotion," Liang Shiqiu pointed out that due to centuries of Confucian ritual governance, the lives of Chinese people had a "tendency toward imbalance" in terms of emotion. Therefore, after the New Culture Movement, there was "everywhere a demand for expansion, liberation, and freedom." Emotion was like a tiger breaking free from an iron cage, "breaking the heavy shackles of ritual," leading to a prevalence of lyricalism in modern Chinese literature. And "sentimentalism" itself was not inherently bad. This clearly affirmed the anti-feudal significance of China's New Literature. At the same time, he also believed that the New Culture Movement went overboard in elevating emotion, resulting in decadentism and pseudo-idealism in literature.
The so-called decadent literature, he explained, was "literature indulging in sensual desires, confining literature to the realm of physical appearance, and taking delight in stimulating oneself and others." It was sometimes immoral (I mean, unethical) and sometimes truly base.
The so-called pseudo-idealism literature, he added, was "literature produced under intense emotional tension, where the mind becomes deranged. On one hand, it neglects the realities of the present world; on the other hand, it fails to perceive the realm beyond material substance. The resulting literature is like the ravings of a madman, like a dream, like a castle in the air."
These criticisms were somewhat applicable to the creations of certain New Literature writers. However, while he sharply criticized "excessive emotion," he also vehemently opposed "humanism" and "universal sympathy," which was clearly a prejudice. He said: "The starting point of humanism is 'sympathy,' more accurately, 'universal sympathy.' This boundless sympathy is often expressed in all romantic works and is particularly prominent in our New Literature. In recent years, New Poetry has produced a 'Rickshaw Driver Faction.' This faction, believing that the sacred rickshaw drivers are excessively oppressed by the economic system, while also believing that labor is sacred and that rickshaw drivers deserve praise. In reality, rickshaw drivers earn their living through blood and sweat, which can be considered an honest way of life. There is nothing pitiful or praiseworthy about it. However, the romanticists, moved by a sense of pity for the world, find the lives of rickshaw drivers admirable and sorrowful, and thus write poems endlessly about them. Universal sympathy extends from rickshaw drivers to farmers, stone carvers, blacksmiths, sedan chair carriers, and even to courtesans who sell their smiles at the door. Universal sympathy does not stop there; it extends from society to the entire world, giving rise to such concepts as 'literature of weak nations,' 'literature of oppressed nations,' and 'anti-war literature.'
If we examine universal sympathy closely, its origin may indeed stem from an expansion of 'self-love and self-pity,' but its fundamental idea is built upon an extreme assumption: 'Man is equal.' The concept of equality is not rational but emotional. The only reason we oppose humanism is that it is not chosen through rational selection. Sympathy is necessary, but universal sympathy is harmful. The idea of equality is impossible in practice and should not exist in theory."
Here, Liang Shiqiu, without hesitation, expressed his disagreement with New Literature writers who used sympathy and praise to depict the lives of lower-class laborers like rickshaw drivers, as well as the lives of oppressed nations. His reason was that humanistic sympathy is based on the concept of equality, and "equality" is both impossible and should not exist. Such views and arguments touch on the question of who New Literature depicts and what content it expresses. If Liang Shiqiu's opinions were followed, it would inevitably hinder the progress of New Literature. Thus, it is a harmful prejudice and the root of the limitations in Liang Shiqiu's literary views.
In discussing "impressionism," Liang Shiqiu believed that Chinese literature at the time was dominated by impressionism. He defined impressionism as follows: "As Bergson said, the universe is in constant flux, and the nature and life that the literary artist observes are merely fragments of fleeting shadows. Impressionists live within these shadows, changing their attitude toward nature and life with the shifting of their temperament and mood. When they are happy, they see flowers laughing and leaves dancing; when they are sorrowful, they see the sun as gray and clouds as dim. They never open their eyes to observe life calmly; they observe life with half-closed eyes, finding the blurred shadows more beautiful and moving. Literature is not objective imitation but subjective impression."
As a result, China had a prevalence of "disorganized and superficial" short poems, while novels were "nine out of ten without a plot, lacking structure or character descriptions, consisting merely of scattered thoughts and impressions," being "merely a superficial expression of the self," and very few writers paid much effort in structuring their works."
While this view may undervalue the achievements of New Literature, his sharp criticisms were somewhat in line with the actual situation. Because the early New Literature did indeed have fewer mature works, most of the works were still rather rough. Based on this understanding, he further pointed out: "The true self does not exist within the realm of sensation but in rational life. To express the self, one must go through the steps of rational activity and cannot rely solely on impressions within the realm of sensation. In fact, great literature does not lie in expressing the self but in expressing universal humanity."
This view is clearly the application of Whitehead's neohumanism. P72-73