National Crisis in the 19th Century Historical context: -- International scene: Western powers after Industrial Revolution -- Domestic turbulence: 5 major uprisings The power base of Qing state was undermined.

Major Events in the 19th Century White Lotus (1796-1804) The Opium War (1839-1842) Taiping (1851-1864) Nian (1853-1868) Chinese Muslim (1855-1873;1862-1873) Boxer Uprising (1898-1901)

British warship 1876 British warship 1777

The Opium War 鴉片戰爭 (1839-1842) Tea: Opium: Silver: The War: Nanjing Treaty (1843): Cultural impact on the Chinese: -- Anxiety: -- Loss of self-confidence:

Reformers Kang Youwei (1858〜1927) Liang Qichao (1854-1921) 梁啟超

Reform戊戌變法 (1898) Short-lived Reform (108 days): Abolishment of the examination system in 1905: To mold a new culture: -- Sought to revive Confucian thought by reinterpreting canonical texts: -- Attempted to transform society with the power of fiction, which is still entrenched in the mainstream tradition of didacticism. Reference: Joseph R. Levenson, Liang Ch’i-Ch’ao and the Mind of Modern China (1953)

Western Impact on Chinese literature Lin Shu 林紓(1852-1924) The man: -- Succeeded in passing the examinations: -- Translated about 170 foreign works: La Dame aux Camelias茶花女遺事(1899) -- Advocated a respectable status for fiction: -- Turned conservative in his later life: “Preface to Oliver Twist:” -- Didactic overtone: Fiction highlights social problems so that the government could make correction (C. P. 159/82). -- To learn from the West and reform ourselves (ibid., 83): -- Appearance and substance (ibid., 83): -- Unintended irony: collapse of literary style 桐城

Lin Shu’s painting “Recluse, forest and spring”林泉逸士

Lu Xun 魯迅(1881-1936) Lu Xun and George Bernard Shaw

Lu Xun The man: -- Zhou Shuren 周樹人, from an impoverished family: -- Went to Japan to study medicine in 1902: -- Reoriented to literature, for medicine could not save the mind: -- Translated and introduced Western literature: -- Published “The Madman’s Diary” (1918) with the pen name “Lu Xun:” -- Blacklisted in 1926 and moved to South China: -- Attacked by critics of both the right and the left wings: -- Died in 1936

“On the Power of Mara Poetry” 魔羅詩力說 (1908) How can one appreciate great works? -- True appreciation comes from careful comparison (C. P. 162/99). How can one lead a nation’s spirit forward? -- “[I]t depends on how much one knows of the world” (ibid., 99). How did he characterize the power of Mara poetry? -- “Its power enables humanity to emerge, evolved, advance, and scale the heights of the possible” (ibid., 101). How did he describe the defiant talents? -- “[F]ew would create conformist harmonies . . . . But they’d bellow an audience to its feet, these iconoclasts whose spirit struck deep chords in later generation, extending to infinity” (ibid., 99).

“On the Power of Mara Poetry” (continued) What is “heart of the matter?” -- “[G]old and iron are far from enough to revive a country. . . . (ibid., 105). What is the essence of art in his thought? -- To rouse and delight its audience (ibid., 105) What is the use of the “useless” literature? -- “It can nurture our imagination” (ibid., 106). -- “All the great works of world literature can open one to the wonder of life . . . .so that those who hear the voice are suddenly enlightened and put in touch with real life” (ibid., 106). -- “[I]t enriches life” (ibid., 106).