First, the phased, regional and overall composition
According to its specific cultural context, the national theme of new poetry in the 1940s can be discussed from two main aspects: stage and region.
First of all, as far as stages are concerned, the poems in the 1940s can be clearly divided into two stages: War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, with the Japanese surrender as the boundary. Being in the same war environment, the poems in these two stages are bound to be influenced and restricted by the war, involving the content of national themes. However, due to the different nature and objects of each stage of the war, its "national theme" will be obviously different in the specific presentation process. Because of the objective existence of "nation" and "country" that transcend class contradictions, the national theme of anti-Japanese war poems in various political and cultural regions can often be dominated by "the same discourse field" With War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory and entering the stage of the war of liberation, the national theme of new poetry is more clear and specific, and its style and characteristics are more subject to the political culture of different regions.
Secondly, geographically, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's new poetry can be divided into three areas: the Kuomintang-controlled area, the liberated area (the area centered on Yan 'an and led by China's * * * production party), the occupied area and the "isolated island" in Shanghai (19371to 19465438). Due to the differences in political, cultural background and social system, the creative styles and "national themes" of poems in the four places are also different.
Second, gloomy realism and ironic expression.
Since the outbreak of "September 18th", the evolution of new poetry on the road of development is showing in history: there are not only differences in thought, spirit and emotion between 1930s and 1940s, but also periodic changes with the development of the situation. 1938+00 After the fall of Wuhan in June, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression entered the "stalemate stage" and the domestic social and political situation changed accordingly. At the beginning of the war, the high-spirited social psychology gradually cooled down, and people began to face up to the cruelty of the war and the difficulty of winning, as well as the corruption in real life in the war era. Poetry has also changed from excitement and shouting to depression, reality and introversion, and the expression of its national theme has gradually become heavy, dignified and full of anxiety.
Taking the poetry creation of "July Poetry School" in 1940s as an example, melancholy and realism are undoubtedly one of its important poetic aesthetic styles.
Third, the integration of "reality" and "modernity"
Summarize and reflect on the past poetry experience, seek, explore and practice the new tradition that runs through the modernization of new poetry, reanalyze the modernization of new poetry from the perspective of technology, Poetry and Democracy, and discuss the political sentimentality, poetry and theme, people's literature and people's literature in modern poetry. Objectively, the creation and theoretical practice of "China New Poetry School" (or "Nine-leaf Poetry School") have great influence on China's new poetry.
Fourthly, the image of "flag" and its reference.
Compared with the land and the sun in the 1930s, the typical image of poetry in the 1940s is the "flag". Due to the unique war background in the 1940s, the typicality of the "national flag" is self-evident. As a sign and symbol, no matter what texture and shape it has, the "flag" contains what Anderson called "simultaneous experience" [15], which allows unknown soldiers to come from all directions, unite with it and forge ahead bravely. Take Song at the Bottom of the Flag by Sun Yue, a poet of July School, as an example;
Let the wind blow! /let the child eject! /Let the dew soak! /Let the rainstorm hit! /Let the sun shine! /Old/broken/We still love it/This big/liberated anti-Japanese flag//Revolutionary flag/tree is firm outside. ...
Flags/always in front of us/flying/we follow flags/forward/backward, flags are our eyes. ...
Verb (abbreviation of verb) from Yan 'an to New China.
Compared with the above aspects,1the "national theme" of the poems in the liberated areas in the 1940s often has its own personality characteristics due to regional political and cultural reasons. From Bai Yuan's straightforward expression in China, I Call You, to the "land image" and "national imagination" shown in Ai Qing's Poems for the Country and Songs for the People of China after he arrived in Yan 'an, and then to the Song for the Motherland written by Chen Hui, a poet of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, the lyric hero's heart is displayed with fresh style, fiery fighting passion and deep love for the motherland. As far as the environment is concerned, the emergence of the above situation is inseparable from the democratic atmosphere, daily life and the cohesion of military-civilian unity in the liberated areas with Yan' an as the core. Of course, combined with the actual situation at that time, we can know that "Yan 'an Poetry" also has a changing trend when presenting "national themes". This change stems from the fact that the liberated areas themselves have gone through the stages of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and also have different themes. Poets in the liberated areas come from all over the country and need to complete the transformation of their living environment, their own creative concepts and identities, which is also an important content. For example, in May of 1942, Mao Zedong's speech at the Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art made the changes of poets, writers and intellectuals inevitable.