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

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Features: Huang Yongjian has put in hard work in his research on prose poems. He has collected almost all the monographs and papers on prose poems to date 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 concepts 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; prose poems of the 1930s and 1940s; prose poems of the 1950s and 1960s; prose poems of the 1980s and 1990s; prose poems from Taiwan; and prose poems from Hong Kong. The author combines the historical trajectory to provide a relatively detailed account of the development of prose poems in different periods and regions, giving new attention 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, who are among his main focuses. He offers a relatively realistic analysis of the artistic and ideological qualities of their prose poems and their position in the history of Chinese prose poems. Due to the author's close connections with poets from Taiwan and Hong Kong, he has access to a wealth of poetic materials, making his discussion on the development of prose poems in these regions distinctive and of considerable historical and artistic value for mainland readers and scholars.
While writing The Theory of the Prose Poem Genre, although I referred to the works of many Chinese and foreign poets, I generally focused more on "theory" and provided only a sketchy outline of the "history," mainly covering the development of prose poems since the new era. There is also a dedicated chapter on Taiwan and Hong Kong prose poems, but due to extremely limited materials at the time, I relied on selected anthologies and scattered publications to gather information, so the chapter was quite thin and insufficient in revealing the artistic characteristics of Taiwan and Hong Kong prose poems in depth and comprehensively. Professor Huang Yongjian's research on the development of Taiwan and Hong Kong prose poems has played a significant role in supplementing the relevant 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 substance of prose poems, where the author argues that the substance of poetry includes emotion, meaning, Dao, and thought, while the substance of modern poetry is "vertically advancing modern emotions and emotional states," and the substance of modern prose poems is "expansive and divergent modern emotions and emotional states"; (2) the form and generation of the substance of prose poems; (3) the structure of prose poems, which the author divides into three main types: flat combinations of emotional modules, three-dimensional intersecting combinations, and network-like combinations. He points out that "modern free-verse poetry and prose poems share the same substance 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 expression. However, in terms of expressive effect, prose poems are more suitable for portraying the subconscious scenarios of modern humanity, achieving the poetic realm with a calling function as Heidegger described, where emotional flows shift unpredictably, consciousness waves rise and fall, and networks of images interweave, forming psychological patterns and structures that prose poems can fully unfold and present, 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 substance status of prose poems, where the author explores its position in the development of stylistics from different perspectives, such as diachronic and synchronic stylistics. Based on the current attention to prose poems, he argues that "prose poems as an independent genre on the contemporary literary scene 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 postmodern era alongside modern poetry, and the more they adhere to this critical, reflective, and ironic aesthetic character and aesthetic orientation, the longer they will maintain their stylistic advantages, consolidate their constituent elements, and, while upholding the essential elements of their stylistic nature, 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 draws on a large amount of previous research, including the work of poets and scholars from Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as findings from other disciplines, reflecting his well-rounded knowledge structure and lending considerable 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 rigidly adhered to materials, making it difficult to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of a genre, while some works centered on theory sometimes divorced themselves from historical context or even from the actual development of literature, leading to subjective and arbitrary conclusions, which could harm literary creation and research. In fact, 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 a guarantee for his continued 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 substantial results in the study of prose poems, but compared to the development of prose poems throughout the 20th century, it still seems insufficient, 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 criticism of prose poems; apart from studies on Lu Xun'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 strength. As someone who also loves prose poems and has done some work in this area, I look forward to his even greater accomplishments in prose poem research, truly advancing the creation and study of prose poems.