Modern Chinese Literature, Lin Shu and the Reformist Movement

Between Classical and Vernacular Language

César Guarde-Paz

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9789811043154
• eBook ISBN: 9789811043161
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Asian Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

This Pivot reconsiders the controversial literary figure of Lin Shu and the debate surrounding his place in the history of Modern Chinese Literature. Although recent Chinese mainland research has recognized some of the innovations introduced by Lin Shu, he has often been labeled a 'rightist reformer' in contrast to 'leftist reformers' such as Chen Duxiu and the new wave scholars of the May Fourth Movement. This book provides a well-documented account of his place in the different polemics between these two circles ('conservatives' and 'reformers') and provides a more nuanced account of the different literary movements of the time. Notably, it argues that these differences were neither in content nor in politics, but in the methodological approach of both parties. Examining Lin Shu and the 'conservatives' advocated coexistence of both traditional and modern thought, the book provides background to themajor changes occurring in the intellectual landscape of Modern China.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Chinese Names and Transliteration
• Abbreviations
• List of Figures
• Introduction
• The Polemic in Context: Hu Shi’s Conversion to Radicalism
• Lin Shu’s First Polemic: Hu Shi and the Xin Qingnian Journal
• Lin Shu’s Second Polemic: Zhang Houzai and Cai Yuanpei
• Cai Yuanpei’s Deceiving Response: An Analysis of its Contents and Fallacies
• Lin Shu as a Liberal Humanist
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• References
• Index