Abstract

The object of this research is the early new literature writers'old-style poetry writing. As the founders and fresh force of new literature, especially of new poetry, early literature writers usually had lifelong experiences in old-style poetry writing. This contrast makes the conflict between the“new”and the“old”more significant, and more interesting.

There are five chapters in this book. The first chapter discusses the writing and publishing of early new literature writers. Their old-style poems are more conspicuous than their new poems, both in time of duration and total number. But because of the standpoint of the new literature writers themselves, various external pressures, reducing of the publication of old-style poetry and lack of audiences, most of these old-style poems haven't been published.

The second chapter analyzes the social contact of early new literature writers with old-style poetry as the medium, from four aspects: writing and largess, mutual responsories, appreciation and comments, and laments. This part tries to revert to another cultural ecology, different from the narrative dominated by new literature, and shows the depth and beauty of the writers' friendship, and their elegant living taste.

The third chapter investigates three key words in old-style poetry writing of early new literature writers: the fondness for “doggerel” becomes the reason and approach that impelled early new literature writers to return to old-style poetry, and can be considered their starting point to reform old-style poetry. Since old-style poems were not easy to be published, early new literature writers usually treated them as a way to“amuse oneself”, and this situation reflects old-style poetry's discourse space and function limits. Early new literature writers had no interest in parading their learning or causing confusion, so they often made“comments by themselves”, in which they carried out their proposition on literature for the common people through old-style poetry.

The fourth chapter analyzes the time context and cultural source of early new literature writers' old-style poetry writing. Their life experience and early education decided that old-style poetry could only be created in the way they were familiar with and used to, and voices of criticism against early new poetry also urged them to save the identities as poets through writing old-style poetry. The great tradition of old-style poetry and pressures of practical career drived them to write old-style poetry, and the characteristics of old-style poetry itself also showed them infinite esthetic fascination.

Chapter five discusses some new qualities in early new literature writers' old-style poetry, including the breakthrough in rhyme and in the rule of level and oblique tones, new ways to use allusions, reference to new things in old-style poetry, deconstructing the taste of elegance, perfusion of new ideas. These new qualities could be regarded as a kind of adaptation made by the early new literature writers in a new historical and cultural context, and their influence goes on to current old-style poetry writing.

Keywords: Early new literature writers; Old-style poetry; Social contact; Source; New qualities