본문 바로가기
  • Home

May Fourth, New Taiwanese literature and Korea –Discussion on modern East Asian based on two novels in Taiwan People News

  • The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
  • Abbr : JSLCKC
  • 2020, (57), pp.91-116
  • DOI : 10.16874/jslckc.2020..57.005
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
  • Research Area : Humanities > Chinese Language and Literature
  • Received : July 10, 2020
  • Accepted : August 20, 2020
  • Published : August 31, 2020

Mal-Soon Choi 1

1國立政治大學

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper first investigates the era when the separately developed New Culture movement and May Fourth movement in Taiwan and mainland China met around the 1920s, and then analyzes the historical recognition of the intellectual class in the two places, and the propagation of May Fourth movement toward Taiwan, based on two novels published in Taiwan People News. There are three main objects in this paper. First: discussing about how the intellectual class in Taiwan and mainland China fused May Fourth movement and New Culture movement with their political demand and cultural enlightenment, according to their view of variations of international trends after the end of World War I. Second: in the epoch of Taiwan People News, New literature was a part of New Culture movement. Because of the revival of sinology and the confirmation of the direction of Chinese literature reformation, abundant literature in vernacular language was imported. Also, that vernacular literature affected the development of New literature by their themes and contents. Based on this background knowledge, this paper selected two novels -- Grief history of Taiwanese women, Sorrowful story of a shepherd – from authors in Taiwan and mainland China, in order to analyze the topics focused by New literature and May Fourth movement. Moreover, this paper analyzed the common recognition of the history of that era, while Korea was serving as a medium in those topics. Then, this paper discusses how the early intellectual class built their understanding field of modern East Asia based on the interrelationship among China, Korea and Taiwan. Third: Due to the influence by May Fourth movement, Taiwanese New literature was limited. For example, the strict article review system and the colonial background both restrained the vernacular literature from efficient propagation and promotion. Despite that, the cultural enlightenment and political demand of intellectual class in Taiwan and mainland China around the 1920s still fitted the expectation of people in that era, and also reflected the common features of modern East Asia in the 20th century.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.