Chronology Entry
Year
1922
Text
Zhou, Zuoren. Zi ji de yuan di [ID D27657].
Bonnie S. McDougall : By 1922 the new literary movement was undergoing its first internal debate, 'art for art's sake' versus 'art for life's sake'. Zhou Zuoren was among those who objected to the false distinction being made, although ultimately he had to declare himself on the side of life : “'Art for art's sake' will separate art from life and make life an appendage of art, or even make an art out of life as Oscar Wilde proposed – of course, this would not be very proper ; 'art for life's sake' will make art an appendage of life or make art into a tool for changing life and not an end in itself – surely this is separating life from art”.
Despite this disapproving tone, Zhou strongly defended Wilde's dialogue The decay of lying, and even remonstrated with one of Wilde's translators for rendering 'lying' by the more innocuous Chinese word for 'fabrication' (jia kong). Zhou Zuoren regarded beauty of Language and a ready wit as the special qualities of Wilde's plays and essays, but his favourite pieces were The happy prince and The fisherman and his soul, the tales with a strong element of fantasy. Zhou noted the thread of social compassion which ran through the fairy-tales, but he also described them as 'unchildlike', 'a poet's poem', and their author as a 'decadent aesthete'. Zhous literary sensibilities enabled him to appreciate Wilde's literary work and attitudes, but his moral seriousness was offended by the dissipation in Wilde's personal life which he read about in Western criticism.
Bonnie S. McDougall : By 1922 the new literary movement was undergoing its first internal debate, 'art for art's sake' versus 'art for life's sake'. Zhou Zuoren was among those who objected to the false distinction being made, although ultimately he had to declare himself on the side of life : “'Art for art's sake' will separate art from life and make life an appendage of art, or even make an art out of life as Oscar Wilde proposed – of course, this would not be very proper ; 'art for life's sake' will make art an appendage of life or make art into a tool for changing life and not an end in itself – surely this is separating life from art”.
Despite this disapproving tone, Zhou strongly defended Wilde's dialogue The decay of lying, and even remonstrated with one of Wilde's translators for rendering 'lying' by the more innocuous Chinese word for 'fabrication' (jia kong). Zhou Zuoren regarded beauty of Language and a ready wit as the special qualities of Wilde's plays and essays, but his favourite pieces were The happy prince and The fisherman and his soul, the tales with a strong element of fantasy. Zhou noted the thread of social compassion which ran through the fairy-tales, but he also described them as 'unchildlike', 'a poet's poem', and their author as a 'decadent aesthete'. Zhous literary sensibilities enabled him to appreciate Wilde's literary work and attitudes, but his moral seriousness was offended by the dissipation in Wilde's personal life which he read about in Western criticism.
Mentioned People (2)
Wilde, Oscar
(Dublin 1854-1900 Paris) : Irischer Schriftsteller, Dramatiker, Dichter
Zhou, Zuoren
(Shaoxing, Zhejiang 1885-1967 Beijing) : Schriftsteller, Übersetzer
Subjects
Literature : Occident : Ireland
Documents (1)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1972-1973 | Dougall, Bonny S. Fictional authors, imagery audiences : "The importance of being earnest" in China. = McDougall, Bonnie S. The importance of being earnest in China : early Chinese attitudes towards Oscar Wilde. In : Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia, vol. 9 (1972/73). | Publication / WilO7 |
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