What is the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly style?

The Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School is also called the Saturday School or the Old Literature School of the Republic of China.

It originated in the early 20th century and reached its peak on the eve of the May Fourth Movement. It lasted until the founding of New China and ended with political changes. Its activity lasted for about 40 years.

The "Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School" novels originated around 1903, and its representative work - "The Soul of Jade Pear" appeared in 1912. Since then, it has formed a literary school with great influence on society.

"Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School" novels first appeared in Shanghai, and later spread to other cities such as Beijing and Tianjin.

At that time, there were hundreds of newspapers and magazines that published such novels.

As for the specific meaning of this faction, it was quite vague at the time.

Some people say that the "Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School" novels refer to romance novels in popular novels, because those works often write love stories, which are inseparable from the scope of "thirty-six mandarin ducks share the same fate as birds, and a pair of butterflies are poor creatures".

Some people think it refers to the kind of classical Chinese novels that often use four or six sentences, "Looking at the words, they really look like pairs of mandarin ducks and pairs of butterflies." However, judging from the works of writers named and criticized by Zheng Zhenduo, the "Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School"

This name refers to much more than that. It actually refers to all literature at that time that focused on interest, entertainment, and entertainment.

Before and after the May 4th Movement, New Literature launched a vigorous critical movement against such novels in order to compete for cultural ground.

Zhou Zuoren was the first to stand up.

In a speech at Peking University in April 1918, he criticized "the mandarin duck and butterfly body of the Jade Pear Soul" school.

In January 1919, Qian Xuantong once again criticized the "Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School Novels" in his article "The "Shadow" Book".

Since then, the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School has almost become synonymous with feudal literature and art and reactionary literature and art.

Reflecting on the past evaluations of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School by academic circles, many of them are contrary to history.

Today, when the commodity economy is prevalent, it is necessary to re-understand and re-evaluate it.

At present, China's modernization construction is underway.

The "May Fourth" new literature made outstanding contributions to the construction of Chinese modernity.

This article believes that the "Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School" literature, like the "May Fourth" new literature, is a modern way of expressing meaning.

If we look at modern times, modern times, and contemporary times as a whole, the "Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School" literature is undoubtedly an important force in the process of building China's modernity.

1. An important feature of modernity is enlightenment rationality. Enlightenment rationality includes two aspects: one is individualism and the other is nationalism.

Humanism grew up in the struggle against feudalism.

It advocates putting "people" first and affirming the value and dignity of people.

It affirms human rights, uses individual liberation to oppose asceticism, and uses reason to oppose obscurantism.

The literature of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School resists feudal morality with human lust and advocates the development of individuality and freedom of marriage to a certain extent.

The early representative work of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School, "The Soul of Jade Pear" (published in "Minquan News"), is about a love tragedy.

The young widow Li Niang fell in love with He Mengxia, a talented and impoverished man who came to teach at home. The relationship between the couple was very passionate. However, due to the pressure of the feudal ethics at that time, they could only communicate with each other and write poems to vent their lovesickness.

The suffering.

Li Niang was so crazy that she thought she could not marry Mengxia, so she planned to introduce her sister-in-law to him to make up for this shortcoming.

The matter was approved by my father-in-law.

But both men and women are reluctant.

Mengxia's sweetheart is still Li Niang, but her sister-in-law is sad about this involuntary marriage.

All three people complained and hated each other.

Li Niang fell ill due to a love injury. She refused to take medicine and died of love.

This is Li Niang's resistance to the evil feudal society that persecutes her.

The main purpose of the love tragedy revealed in this novel is to reveal the pain caused by feudal society to young men and women who cannot be free in marriage.

However, some critics believe that the work promotes the feudal concept of chastity of Li Niang, which is based on love and restrains on etiquette. This is unreasonable.

After being deeply stimulated, He Mengxia also woke up and issued a call to "encourage our youth and save the yellow race", participated in the Wuchang Uprising led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and finally died on the battlefield.

The novel writes about the love tragedy of a talented man and a beautiful woman, and reveals social problems. Its main tendency is to arouse people's suspicion and denial of society, which is undoubtedly progressive.

In Zhou Shoujuan's short story "This Hate Lasts Forever" (original issue "Saturday" No. 16), Chen Zongxiong, thinking about the future of his beloved wife after his death, wants her to devote herself to her former classmate and friend Hong Qiutang.

Observe the festival for him.

"This fully demonstrates the brave challenge of an old democratic revolutionist to the feudal ethics of 'obedience to the end'" [1], but critics say it is "a complete bourgeois taste and sentiment, which caters to 'boredom and boredom'"

It is a pastime of the comprador bourgeoisie who are too fat to worry about, and for young people, it is a kind of poison that promotes a negative and despairing outlook on life." How far this is from reality.

Bao Tianxiao was a representative writer during the heyday of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School.

His "A Wisp of Ma" is about the marriage tragedy of a smart and beautiful woman who was betrothed to an ugly and demented rich boy at an early age. The novel reveals the cruelty of arranged marriages and its anti-feudal significance, as well as the youth's pursuit of democracy and yearning for freedom of marriage at that time.

The book's thoughts and wishes are consistent, so it has a strong resonance in the minds of readers.

Mei Lanfang once said in his memoirs that after the performance of his new fashion drama "A Wisp of Ma" adapted from Bao Tianxiao's novel, he moved some parents who had watched the drama and at the request of their children, they lifted the unreasonable

Engagement, we can see the positive impact this novel has had.