| Scar Literature | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1978 Onwards |
| Location | Mainland China |
| Major figures | Liu Xinwu Zhang Chengzhi |
| Influences |
|
| Scar literature | |
|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 傷痕文學 |
| Simplified Chinese | 伤痕文学 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Shānghén wénxué |
Scar literature orliterature of the wounded (Chinese:伤痕文学;pinyin:shānghén wénxué) is a genre ofChinese literature which emerged in the late 1970s during theBoluan Fanzheng, soon after the death ofMao Zedong, portraying the sufferings of cadres andintellectuals during the experiences of theCultural Revolution and the rule of theGang of Four.[1]
During theBoluan Fanzheng period, the rise of scar literature coincided with theBeijing Spring and the decade of theNew Enlightenment, a time of greateropenness in Chinese society.[2][3] It has been described as a "secondHundred Flowers Movement",[4] and compared with theliterary thaw in theEastern Bloc, which was named afterIlya Ehrenburg’sThe Thaw (1954).[5]
Though scar literature focuses on trauma and oppression, and has been described as largely negative, love and faith remained its major themes; its practitioners were typically not opposed to Communism, but on the converse retained faith in the ability of the Party to rectify past tragedies, and "embraced love as a key to solving social problems".[6] Regardless, though their writing was hailed as marking a revival of the tradition ofsocialist realism in the arts, it in fact represented a break from that tradition, as it was no longer subject to party control, and was not under an obligation to serve the purpose of political education for the masses.[7]
Unlike the mass revolutionary art of the Cultural Revolution, scar literature adopted a more individualist and market-driven literary style.[8]
Most of the representative authors were in their thirties and forties at the time; they worked as salaried writers and editors, and published their works in state-sponsored literary journals.[9] The moral outrage they expressed in their works resonated with the public, contributing to its popularity.[10]
Scar literature did not entirely receive a free pass from the Party establishment; due to its criticisms of theCommunist Party and of Mao himself, as well as its exposure of social problems, it came under attack by conservatives as early as 1979. Events such as the trial ofWei Jingsheng signalled writers that there were limits to the open discussion of the past errors of the Party, and after the end of the trial of theGang of Four, the political climate chilled significantly.[14] Eventually, the government began to crack down on scar literature as part of a wider campaign against "bourgeois liberalism".[15]Deng Xiaoping himself provided major support for the campaign, even though his return to Chinese politics after his earlier disgrace and his political victory over rivalHua Guofeng relied heavily on the repudiation of Maoism inherent in scar literature, and its influence on public opinion.[4][15] The campaign against scar literature was itself unusual in that, unlike earlier campaigns againstliberalism, official criticisms were generally limited to attacks on its content, rather than denunciations of individuals.[16]
Not all works by authors who lived through the Cultural Revolution can be classified as scar literature.Zhang Chengzhi in particular is notable for his idealism regarding his experiences during the Cultural Revolution; his works such asBlack Steed andRivers of the North have been described as rebuttals to the "negativism of scar literature".[17] Critics of scar literature and reportage literature often contend that the trend of such literature to focus on intellectuals as heroes evades questions of complicity and therefore is a poor example for moral learning.[18]: 66
