This article examines what and how different the descriptions of contemporary Chinese literary history, especially the 1950s, are through literary histories written in the early 1960s, early 1980s, and 1999. In terms of classification, the two literar...
This article examines what and how different the descriptions of contemporary Chinese literary history, especially the 1950s, are through literary histories written in the early 1960s, early 1980s, and 1999. In terms of classification, the two literary history books of 1999 had a unique system with distinct individuality, and the literary history books of the 1960s revealed the circumstances of the era when mass art was important. The two literary history books of the 1980s present the most ordinary literary history through genre or period classification. In terms of content, I believe the most obvious difference is reflected in the evaluation of writers who were criticized in the 1950s and the evaluation of writers who were workers, peasants, and soldiers. In the end, if you want to properly grasp the literary field of the 1950s, you should not approach it only with a single literary history book. If you only look at the literary history book of the early 1960s because of the close timing, you cannot properly evaluate the writers who were criticized in the 1950s. Likewise, if you only look at the recent books of literary history, you will miss the atmosphere of organization, cultivation of writers from workers, peasants and soldiers. When reading a book of literary history, it is necessary to keep in mind that it contained the influence of the time when it was written.