Cycles of repression and relaxation in the "new period" : a study of politico-literary events in China, 1976-1989

Abstract

This is a study of politico-literary events in China during the period from the downfall of the Gang of Four on 6 October 1976 to the Peking Massacre of 4 June 1989. Its aim is to show how Chinese writers and intellectuals have striven for a liberalization which would permit them academic and creative freedom; how the authorities of the CCP have reacted to the literary and political demands of Chinese writers and intellectuals; and how Chinese literature, literary criticism and literary theory have developed during the so-called "new period" in the context of conflicts within the Party on the one hand and between the CCP and Chinese writers and intellectuals on the other, conflicts which were both simultaneous and interactive. There are ten chapters altogether. The first chapter shows how Chinese literary and art circles were engaged, from October 1976 until the end of 1978, in exposing and criticizing the Gang of Four's literary policies and what they believed to be their crimes in the fields of literature and art, keeping abreast of the nationwide movement orchestrated by the CCP authorities. Chapter Two deals with the continued debates over "scar literature", the hallmark of "literature of the new period" in its early stage, concentrating on such issues as the exposure of the dark side of social life and "socialist tragedy", as well as the general appraisal of "scar literature". 1979 saw the first serious re-examination of the relationship between the arts and politics, which became the focus at the Fourth Congress of Chinese Writers and Artists held in that year. Initiated by Liu Binyan and other writers who had suffered greatly in the numerous political campaigns of the past, this re-examination was made possible only after the Third Plenum of the Party's Eleventh Central Committee held at the end of 1978. This forms the subject-matter of Chapter Three. The issue of the "social effect of literature and art" was raised officially at the Symposium on Script Writing convened in February 1980, the highlight of which was a long speech by Hu Yaobang. The symposium, however, did not seem to bear much fruit, and the debate still continued, somewhat running counter to the desire of the Party authorities. These are discussed in Chapter Four. The concern about the current political situation felt by some authorities finally led to a fierce attack in April 1981 upon Bai Hua and his film script "Unrequited Love", at the same time that the arrest of democratic activists was going on. In August 1981, the Party further issued a call to counter "bourgeois liberalization". A main target for attack in the campaign was the idea of "governing by doing nothing that goes against nature" as advocated by Wang Ruowang and Zhao Dan. These are dealt with in Chapter Five. Humanism found a new manifestation in many post-Mao works. In the early 1980s, the theory of socialist alienation was put forward by Zhou Yang, with Wang Ruoshui adding fuel to the fire. These ideas became so serious a problem to some Party authorities that they were chosen as the primary targets during the short-lived campaign to "eliminate spiritual pollution" carried out in the last months of 1983. This is the subject of Chapter Six. With the policies of the "four modernizations" and "open door" adopted by the CCP, which inevitably brought about changes in people's economic and cultural life, modernism arrived. One of the conspicuous examples was "misty poetry". Because modernism was regarded as having a bearing on the fate of Chinese socialist literature and art, "misty poetry" and its theory were repeatedly attacked in the 1981 clampdown on "bourgeois liberalization" and in the 1983 elimination of "spiritual pollution". This will be discussed in Chapter Seven. Following the CCP Twelfth Central Committee convening its Third Plenum at the end of 1984, the Fourth Congress of the Chinese writers Association took place, which confirmed "creative freedom". In 1986 Liu Zaifu put forward his theory of "the subjectivity of literature". In an intense debate, the theory was accused of discarding and even denouncing Marxist principles. Liu, however, did not lose ground, and what is called the "Liu Zaifu Incident" was aborted. This is dealt with in Chapter Eight. In 1986, there was a loud cry for democracy and freedom in China. Then, following Hu Yaobang's dismissal in January 1987, there was another and much more vigorous campaign against "bourgeois liberalization". But Chinese writers and intellectuals did not retreat. Firmly supporting the students in the "Storm of May" of 1989, they simply turned their discussions about humanism into concrete actions against the tyranny and corruption of the CCP. Looking back upon what has happened in China over the past ten years or more, which shows cycles of repression and relaxation, I find that there has been a strong demand for liberalization by Chinese writers and intellectuals. I find too that the character of writers and intellectuals has been undergoing a significant change from dependence to independence; they have promoted liberalization, and in turn have enjoyed it, in their academic and creative activities. With their joint efforts, some gratifying features have appeared in Chinese literature, literary criticism and literary theory. The CCP hardliners, however, with their "four cardinal principles", inevitably could not tolerate this trend. But liberalization is difficult to suppress, even with the use of guns and tanks, as in the Peking Massacre of 4 June 1989. This will be discussed in Chapter Ten, in which my conclusion will be presented.There was indeed an awakening of Chinese writers and intellectuals. This will be the subject of Chapter Nine.