Research on Chinese Prose Poetry

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 thoroughly studied them, absorbing ideas and perspectives 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 in the Context of Modern Chinese" specifies 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; 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 gives 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, among others, analyzing their artistic and ideological qualities as well as their positions in the history of Chinese prose poems in a relatively objective manner. 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 particularly distinctive and valuable for mainland readers and researchers in terms of historical and artistic significance.
When writing The Theory of Prose Poem Genre, although I referred to the works of many Chinese and foreign poets, I generally focused more on "theory" while providing only a broad outline of "history," particularly for 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 the limited materials at the time, I relied on selected anthologies and scattered publications to gather information, resulting in a rather thin discussion that did not thoroughly and comprehensively reveal 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 substance of prose poems, where the author argues that the substance of poetry includes emotion, meaning, truth, and thought, while the substance of modern poetry is "vertically advancing modern emotions and emotional states with jumps," and the substance 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 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 expressing emotions and thoughts. However, from the perspective of expressive effect, prose poems are more suitable for portraying the subconscious scenarios of modern humans, achieving the poetic realm with a call function as Heidegger described it—where emotional flows shift unpredictably, consciousness waves fluctuate, and networks of images interweave in a three-dimensional, cross-combined psychological pattern and structure, which 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 status of prose poems as a genre, exploring their position in the development of stylistics from diachronic and synchronic perspectives. Based on 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 alongside modern poetry, and the more they adhere to their critical, reflective, and ironic aesthetic qualities and aesthetic orientation, the better they will maintain their stylistic advantages, consolidate their constituent elements, and, while preserving the essential elements of their genre, 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 large amount of previous research, including the works of poets and scholars from Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as findings 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 perspectives, even from the historical facts of literary development, leading to subjective and arbitrary conclusions, which could harm literary creation and research. In reality, poetry research (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, truly advancing 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 ongoing academic exploration.
Among the various literary genres today, prose poems are 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. Research on 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 falls short, with many topics yet to be explored. For example, we still lack a systematic history of the development of prose poems; we have no history of theoretical criticism of prose poems; apart from studies on Lu Xun's Wild Grass, we have no monographs dedicated to individual prose poem writers; and we have no works comparing prose poems from China and abroad, and so on. 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.