May Fourth (Yao Xueyin's Artistic Booklet)

Author: Mao Dun, Yao Xueyin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The Rise of the Li Family (Li Zicheng) broke new ground in contemporary long-form historical fiction, exploring and innovating in various artistic aspects. This sparked great interest and enthusiasm from Mao Dun, who wrote over thirty letters analyzing and commenting on the work. Notably, he provided detailed critiques of the second volume, covering ten units from The Bravery of Shangluo to The Turbulent River of He Luo. Such an extensive engagement with a contemporary historical novel by a prominent literary figure was unprecedented in the history of modern Chinese literature. Mao Dun's entire correspondence with Yao Xueyin centered on the practical challenges of writing a long historical novel, addressing issues raised by Yao in his letters, such as the unification of historical truth and artistic truth (i.e., the integration of historical science and artistic philosophy), the inheritance of China's national traditions while combining and innovating with foreign experiences, the artistic structure of a long novel, the dynamic interplay of high and low points, tension and relaxation, abrupt breaks and continuities, and the subtleties of content and form. Other topics included the rich diversity of language use, the blending of realism and romanticism in character and scene descriptions, the interweaving of details with foreshadowing and suspense, the balance of realism and imagination, and the coordination of multiple characters. Yao“aesthetic” issues, while Mao referred to them as “artistic techniques.” Through meticulous analysis of the novel, Mao Dun offered insightful and concise perspectives with keen insight. This form of correspondence, serving as a dialogue and exploration, transformed academic theories into accessible discussions, benefiting both readers in expanding their knowledge and improving their appreciation of the novel's artistry, as well as creators of long novels who could draw inspiration from it.
The author has compiled and organized over eighty letters exchanged between Mao Dun and Yao Xueyin from July 1974 to February 1980 into this book, a work of great historical significance. It stands as a unique and academically valuable collection of in-depth discussions between two generations of renowned writers since the May Fourth Movement on theoretical ideas and artistic techniques related to a long historical novel. From autumn 1974 to spring 1980, Yao Xueyin wrote fifty-two letters to Mao Dun about the creative challenges of The Rise of the Li Family, to which Mao Dun replied with thirty-six letters, totaling eighty-eight. This book includes forty-two letters from Yao Xueyin and thirty-one from Mao Dun, amounting to seventy-three in total, which exceeds 80% of their entire correspondence. These letters are all centered on The Rise of the Li Family and the creation of long historical novels or other significant literary theories. The analysis in this book is thorough, concise, and insightful, making it well worth reading.