Beauty of Wen's Collection

Author: Shao Xunmei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The jingling of jade pendants, Xunmei is both refined and beautiful. Talented and brilliant, he was renowned as the "Poetic Twin Pearl" alongside Xu Zhimo in the New Moon Poetry Circle; gentle and elegant, he advocated humor in the Analects, creating a new wonder in the modern literary garden; generous in spirit, he hosted a gathering of esteemed guests, painting vivid portraits in his free talks, earning the title "Sea of Shanghai's Lord Mengchang"; captivating and enchanting, his love stories were as beautiful as his charm, leaving a romantic legacy. Where is Xunmei? Here—let us turn the pages lightly, listen to a conversation of one person, and trace the origins and destinations of humor. "Interest is an artificial talent, while talent is a natural interest. Without talent, your interest cannot be expressed; without interest, your talent will become deformed. Lu Xun had talent but no interest; Mao Dun had interest but no talent; Da Fu had both talent and interest, and in his works, we can see his entire personality."
As a poet, prose writer, critic, translator, editor, publisher, and literary activist, Shao Xunmei was highly active in Shanghai's literary scene. His nearly all-encompassing literary career was truly vibrant. Although the role he successfully played as a cultural intermediary was controversial, the undeniable impact he had is a fact. His role and significance have yet to be thoroughly studied and fully recognized. The included work, A Conversation of One Person, holds a special place among Shao Xunmei's numerous literary discussions. It is a unique collection of literary essays. Shao Xunmei adopts his favorite "conversation" or personal monologue style in the book to elaborate on his views on literary creation and criticism, covering topics such as the definition of poetry, the function of poetry, the relationship between poetry and gender, poetry and appreciation, poetry and style, the present and future of new poetry, the experience of writing novels, historical novels, the planned poetic drama Xi Shi, scripts and performances, film and stage plays, art and personality, the interest of writers, noble and vulgar interest, interest and talent, and the responsibility of critics. In his relaxed and free discussions, Shao Xunmei gently shares the joys and sorrows of his exploration of new poetic techniques, candidly evaluates the literary creations of his contemporaries, and introduces the basic perspectives of Western modern literature, particularly poetics, in an accessible manner. The book is warm in tone, vivid in writing, and engaging to read.
In addition to A Conversation of One Person, this book includes Shao Xunmei's early literary criticism collection Fire and Flesh. The "Supplementary" section contains several literary essays and papers published in newspapers and magazines during the 1920s and 1930s, including appreciations of Western and modern writers and works, critiques of modern literary creations, explorations of the relationship between literature and film, drama, and art, as well as recollections of literary circles and prefaces to translations. Additionally, it includes the only published poetry criticism by Shao Xunmei after 1949, After Reading Chairman Mao's Letter on Poetry, and several prefaces to translations. From these, one can trace the development of Shao Xunmei's literary thought, appreciate his broad cultural vision and unique aesthetic taste. The editor believes that the publication of this comprehensive collection of Shao Xunmei's literary criticism and essays, Xunmei's Literary Legacy, will help modern Chinese literature scholars understand Shao Xunmei's multifaceted literary talent, evaluate his thoughts and contributions to literary criticism and theory, and thus further dispel prejudices and biases, providing a more objective and comprehensive positioning of Shao Xunmei in the literary history of the 20th century China.
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