Through reading two creatively translated stories by the Zhou brothers, Lu Xun＇s （Zhou Shuren） ＂The Soul of Sparta＂ （Sibada zhi hun, 1903） and Zhou Zuoren＇s ＂The Chivalrous Slave Girl＂ （Xia niinu, 1904）, t...Through reading two creatively translated stories by the Zhou brothers, Lu Xun＇s （Zhou Shuren） ＂The Soul of Sparta＂ （Sibada zhi hun, 1903） and Zhou Zuoren＇s ＂The Chivalrous Slave Girl＂ （Xia niinu, 1904）, this paper takes a close look at the intellectual trend in the first decade of the twentieth-century China of constructing strong and heroic women as the emblem of national power while rendering men as powerless. By focusing on a foreign heroine with traditional Chinese virtues, both translations creatively Sinicized and feminized the foreign power in the original tales. At the same time, male characters, prospective readers of the stories, and even authors themselves were marginalized, diminished, and ridiculed vis-a-vis the newly constructed feminine authority. Comparing this form of cultural masochism to other literary masochisms in modem China analyzed by Rey Chow and Jing Tsu respectively, this paper endeavors to excavate a hybrid model of nationalist agency grounded in the intertwined relationship of race, gender and nation. In my analysis, Gilles Deleuze＇s discussion on masochism is utilized as a heuristic tool to shed light on the revolutionary potential embedded in the ＂strong women, weak men＂ complex in the 1910s. I argue that the cultural masochism in late Qing represents one of the earliest attempts of the Chinese intellectuals to creatively use Chinese traditional gender cosmology to absorb the threat of Western imperialism and put forward a hybrid model of nationalist agency.展开更多
When the Chinese Revolution led by the Communist Party eventually prevailed in 1949, Zhou Zuoren （1885-1967） wrote to Zhou Enlai--the first premier of the People＇s Republic--in the hope of reversing the verdict on ...When the Chinese Revolution led by the Communist Party eventually prevailed in 1949, Zhou Zuoren （1885-1967） wrote to Zhou Enlai--the first premier of the People＇s Republic--in the hope of reversing the verdict on his ＂culpability.＂ To what extent, Zhou Zuoren asked, was he, a wartime collaborator with the Japanese enemy, recognizable not only as an offender of the traditional moral norms （mingjiao）, but also as a traitor of the nation （minzu）？ Before the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, Zhou Zuoren had long been viewed as a leading figure of the Chinese ＂New Culture.＂ Zhou Zhuoren＇s sudden decision to collaborate with the Japanese Occupation in 1938 then turned out to be a traumatic and scandalous event for the Chinese intellectual community. The whole case of his collaboration exposed, in disturbing ways, the convergences and the divergences of law, morality and politics in China＇s modern nation building. By revisiting this controversial case, this paper attempts at a symptomatic reading of the following texts： ＂An Open Letter to Zhou Zuoren＂ written collectively by a group of Chinese intellectuals, court documents of the post-war trials, and Zhou Zuoren＇s letter to Zhou Enlai. This re-reading focuses on the domain of the cultural-political rhetoric, within which Zhou＇s contentious ＂culpability＂ has turned into an ambiguous zone of modern law, traditional morality, and nationalism in East Asia.展开更多
When late Qing and early Republican-period Chinese reformers grappled with the challenges of creating a new poetic language and form in the early decades of the twentieth century, Zhou Zuoren （1885-1967）, one of mod...When late Qing and early Republican-period Chinese reformers grappled with the challenges of creating a new poetic language and form in the early decades of the twentieth century, Zhou Zuoren （1885-1967）, one of modern China＇s most influential intellectuals, believed that much could be learned from the experiments of modern Japanese poets who had overcome similar challenges in the decades following the Meiji restoration. Of all the verse forms Japanese poets were experimenting with, Zhou was particularly interested in modern haiku and tanka. Zhou felt that the modern haiku and tanka＇s rootedness in tradition on the one hand and their ability to express modern sensibilities on the other could offer a model for Chinese poets seeking to create a poetic voice that was at once modern, but also anchored in traditional poetics. This article will analyze some of Zhou＇s translations of modern haiku and tanka and illustrate how these translations led him to promote a new poetic form in China, typically referred to as ＂short verse＂ （xiaosh0. By further reading Zhou＇s critical essays on modern Japanese poetry against the writings of a number of Western modernist poets and translators who themselves were inspired by East Asian verse forms--Ezra Pound in particular--I will comment on the degree to which Zhou＇s promotion of short verse inspired by modern Japanese haiku and tanka challenges a perceived Western role in legitimizing East Asian forms as conducive to modernism.展开更多
It is generally acknowledged that Lu Xun＇s collection of prose poems, Wild Grass （Yecao）, is his epitomizing work. Among the numerous research on this work, it is rare to find studies that explicitly expound Zhou Z...It is generally acknowledged that Lu Xun＇s collection of prose poems, Wild Grass （Yecao）, is his epitomizing work. Among the numerous research on this work, it is rare to find studies that explicitly expound Zhou Zuoren＇s relationship with Lu Xun and his effect upon the latter＇s writing. This is probably because scholars seldom associate poetry with Zhou Zuoren, a writer famous for his prose and essays. In addition, the relationship between the two brothers broke up completely in 1923. Therefore, Zhou Zuoren does not appear to have played a significant role in the composition of Wild Grass in 1924. This essay attempts to explore the relationship between the two brothers from a new perspective, revolving the analysis around the ＂Shadow＇s Leave-Taking＂ （Ying de gaobie） the most difficult and important work in Lu Xun＇s collection of prose poems, Wild Grass.展开更多
文摘Through reading two creatively translated stories by the Zhou brothers, Lu Xun＇s （Zhou Shuren） ＂The Soul of Sparta＂ （Sibada zhi hun, 1903） and Zhou Zuoren＇s ＂The Chivalrous Slave Girl＂ （Xia niinu, 1904）, this paper takes a close look at the intellectual trend in the first decade of the twentieth-century China of constructing strong and heroic women as the emblem of national power while rendering men as powerless. By focusing on a foreign heroine with traditional Chinese virtues, both translations creatively Sinicized and feminized the foreign power in the original tales. At the same time, male characters, prospective readers of the stories, and even authors themselves were marginalized, diminished, and ridiculed vis-a-vis the newly constructed feminine authority. Comparing this form of cultural masochism to other literary masochisms in modem China analyzed by Rey Chow and Jing Tsu respectively, this paper endeavors to excavate a hybrid model of nationalist agency grounded in the intertwined relationship of race, gender and nation. In my analysis, Gilles Deleuze＇s discussion on masochism is utilized as a heuristic tool to shed light on the revolutionary potential embedded in the ＂strong women, weak men＂ complex in the 1910s. I argue that the cultural masochism in late Qing represents one of the earliest attempts of the Chinese intellectuals to creatively use Chinese traditional gender cosmology to absorb the threat of Western imperialism and put forward a hybrid model of nationalist agency.
文摘When the Chinese Revolution led by the Communist Party eventually prevailed in 1949, Zhou Zuoren （1885-1967） wrote to Zhou Enlai--the first premier of the People＇s Republic--in the hope of reversing the verdict on his ＂culpability.＂ To what extent, Zhou Zuoren asked, was he, a wartime collaborator with the Japanese enemy, recognizable not only as an offender of the traditional moral norms （mingjiao）, but also as a traitor of the nation （minzu）？ Before the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, Zhou Zuoren had long been viewed as a leading figure of the Chinese ＂New Culture.＂ Zhou Zhuoren＇s sudden decision to collaborate with the Japanese Occupation in 1938 then turned out to be a traumatic and scandalous event for the Chinese intellectual community. The whole case of his collaboration exposed, in disturbing ways, the convergences and the divergences of law, morality and politics in China＇s modern nation building. By revisiting this controversial case, this paper attempts at a symptomatic reading of the following texts： ＂An Open Letter to Zhou Zuoren＂ written collectively by a group of Chinese intellectuals, court documents of the post-war trials, and Zhou Zuoren＇s letter to Zhou Enlai. This re-reading focuses on the domain of the cultural-political rhetoric, within which Zhou＇s contentious ＂culpability＂ has turned into an ambiguous zone of modern law, traditional morality, and nationalism in East Asia.
文摘When late Qing and early Republican-period Chinese reformers grappled with the challenges of creating a new poetic language and form in the early decades of the twentieth century, Zhou Zuoren （1885-1967）, one of modern China＇s most influential intellectuals, believed that much could be learned from the experiments of modern Japanese poets who had overcome similar challenges in the decades following the Meiji restoration. Of all the verse forms Japanese poets were experimenting with, Zhou was particularly interested in modern haiku and tanka. Zhou felt that the modern haiku and tanka＇s rootedness in tradition on the one hand and their ability to express modern sensibilities on the other could offer a model for Chinese poets seeking to create a poetic voice that was at once modern, but also anchored in traditional poetics. This article will analyze some of Zhou＇s translations of modern haiku and tanka and illustrate how these translations led him to promote a new poetic form in China, typically referred to as ＂short verse＂ （xiaosh0. By further reading Zhou＇s critical essays on modern Japanese poetry against the writings of a number of Western modernist poets and translators who themselves were inspired by East Asian verse forms--Ezra Pound in particular--I will comment on the degree to which Zhou＇s promotion of short verse inspired by modern Japanese haiku and tanka challenges a perceived Western role in legitimizing East Asian forms as conducive to modernism.
文摘It is generally acknowledged that Lu Xun＇s collection of prose poems, Wild Grass （Yecao）, is his epitomizing work. Among the numerous research on this work, it is rare to find studies that explicitly expound Zhou Zuoren＇s relationship with Lu Xun and his effect upon the latter＇s writing. This is probably because scholars seldom associate poetry with Zhou Zuoren, a writer famous for his prose and essays. In addition, the relationship between the two brothers broke up completely in 1923. Therefore, Zhou Zuoren does not appear to have played a significant role in the composition of Wild Grass in 1924. This essay attempts to explore the relationship between the two brothers from a new perspective, revolving the analysis around the ＂Shadow＇s Leave-Taking＂ （Ying de gaobie） the most difficult and important work in Lu Xun＇s collection of prose poems, Wild Grass.
