Title: People’s Literature and the Construction of a New Chinese Literary Tradition
Abstract: These excerpts from the poem “Beijing” by Zou Difan, a Left-wing poet often associated with the declamatory poetry movement, were published in the second issue of the literary magazine People’s Literature (人民文学 Renmin wenxue) on December 1, 1949.1 The long poem celebrates the rich culture and history of the Chinese capital. The narrator’s vantage point from the top of the White Pagoda allows for a sweeping view of Beijing, activating a historical memory of the city. Starting with the invasion of foreign imperialists, the first third of the poem narrates the oppression that city dwellers in Beijing lived under for the first half of the twentieth century. The narrator describes young people in the streets protesting during the May Fourth movement, and then denounces the irony of the name Beiping (northern peace) under the rule of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Japanese armies. The narration of Beijing’s troubled history in the first third of the poem stands in contrast to the peaceful scenery in newly liberated Beijing, where everywhere the narrator looks he sees people working to rebuild the country, starting with its capital. He sees groups of workers who resemble blue bouquets of flowers, constructing sewage systems and installing electricity cables.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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