the other offering Communism as a panacea for all social ills, and there is probably as
little real independence of thinking as there ever was in old China. With all the
apparent emancipation of ideas, the old psychosis of the Grand Inquisition is still
there, under the cloak of modern terms. For, after all, the Chinese love liberty as they
love a foreign cocotte, for whom they have no real affection. These are the ugly
features of the period of transition, and they in time will wear off, when China
becomes politically better organized, and its soul has less sensitive spots.
All these changes have come through the influence of European literature. This
influence is, of course, not confined to literature, for China has reaped in one harvest
the fruits of Western scholarship in philosophy, psychology, science technology,
economics and all those things contained in the modern critical culture. Even foreign children's games and songs and dances are now being introduced. The net positive
result of its progress in literature has been summarized in the discussion on the
literary revolution. This influence comes as a direct result of translations of European
literature. A glance at the range and content of these translations would show the
extent and, incidentally, the type of this influence.
The 15134 Yearbook of Chinese Publications (in Chinese) gives a list of these
translations of poems, short stories and novels made in the last twenty-three years,
covering twenty-six countries. This list is by no means complete, but will serve for
our present purpose. Given in the order of the number of authors represented, they are
as follows: England 47,France 38, Russia 36, Germany 30, Japan 30, United States 18,
Italy 7, Norway 6, Poland 5, Spain 4, Hungary 3, Greece 3, Africa 2, Jews 2, and the
rest, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Latvia, Bulgaria, Jugoslavia,
Syria, Persia, India and Siam, represented by one author each.
An examination of the translations from English authors shows that the novelists are
represented by George Eliot, Fielding, Defoe (including Moll Flanders], Kingsley,
Swift, Goldsmith, the Bronte sisters (Wuthering Heights and Vilhtte], Scott, Conrad,
Mrs. Gaskell and Dickens (Old Curiosity Shop, David Cofperfield, Oliver Twist,
Dombey and Son, Nicholas Nickleby, A Tale of Two Cities, Christmas Carol, Hard
Times}. Rider Haggard, through the influence of Lin Shu's translations, has obtained a
popularity entirely out of proportion with his standing. The poets are represented by
Spenser (Faerie Qyeene], Browning, Burns, Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth, Ernest
Dowson. Five of Shakespeare's plays (Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Twelfth
Night,. Hmry VI and Romeo and Juliet梤 ather haphazard, as one can see} have been
translated by separate translators. The drama is represented by Galsworthy (seven of
his plays), Pinero, Jones, Sheridan (School for Scandal] and
Shaw (Mrs. Warren's Profession, Widowers' Houses, The Philanderer, Arms and the
Man, Alan and Superman and Pygmalion]. The Irish school is represented by Synge
and Dunsany. Essayists are represented by Lamb, Arnold Bennett and Max Beerbohm.
James Barrie and Oscar Wilde have received a large share of attention; there are two
translations of Lady Winderrnere*s Fan and three translations of Salome; also Wilde's
Picture of Dorian Gray and De Profundis have been translated. H. G. Wells is known
through his Time Machine, Mr. Britling Sees It Through, The First Man in the Moon,
and especially through his Short History of the World. Thomas Hardy is only k nown
through his short stories and poems, although his name is very familiar* Katheiine
Mansfield, through the influence of the late Hsu Tzumo, is rather well known. This
list covers only authors whose translated works have appeared in book form and, of
course, does not cover authors in other fields like Bertrand Russell, whose influence is
very great.
In the French section one comes across names like Balzac, Moliere, Maupassant
(complete works), France (nine of his works; Thais twice translated), Gide, Voltaire (Candide), Rousseau (Confessions and j ile}y Zola (poorly represented), Gautier,
Flaubert (Madame Bovary thrice translated, Salammbd and Un Cosur Simple}.
Dumasphe etfls have long been popular, especially La Dame aux Camillas, which has
become common property among the Chinese. Hugo is well represented by Les
Travailleurs de la mer, Les Miserables, Notre-Dame de Paris, Quatre-vingf- treize,
Hernani, Ruy Blas> and Lucrece Borgia. The early romanticists are represented by
Chateaubriand (Atala and Ren/) and Bernardine de Saint-Pierre. Daudet's Sappho and
Prevost's Manon Lescaut are, of course, favourites. Baudelaire is well known, and
Rostand's Cyrano has its devotees. Barbusse has tvvo translations of his novels Le
Feu and Clarte, and even the long Jean Ckristopke of Rolland is now available in
Chinese, besides his Le Montespan, Pierre et Luce and Le Jeu de F amour ei de la
mort,
Classical German literature is represented, of course, by Goethe, among whose works
Faust) Werther (two translations}, Egtnont, ClamgOy Stella and part of Wilhelm
Mdster have been translated, and Schiller (Die Jungfrau von Orleans, Wilhelm
Wdlenstein and Die Rduber}. Represented also are Leasing (Minna von Barnhelm),
Freytag (Die Journalisten], Heine (&J der Lieder, selected, and Die Harzreise) .... De
la MotteFouqu^'s Undine and Storm's Immensee (three translations) are extremely
popular. Hauptmann is known through his Die Weber, Der rote Hahn, Der Biberpelz,
Einsame Menschen and his recent novel Der Ketzer von Soana (two trans lations),
while his Die Versunkene Glocke was once the name of a magazine. Among others
are Sudermann's Frau Sorge and more modern works like Wedekind's Fruhlings
Erwachen and Leonhard Frank's Karl und Anna.
Apart from a few translations from Hawthorne, Mrs. Stowe, Irving, Mark Twain and
Jack London, the interest in American literature centres around more modern works.
The best known is Upton Sinclair, whose popularity came with the tide of Russian
communist literature. Thirteen of his works have been translated, and in this category
may also be mentioned Michael Gold's short stories and his novel, Jews Without
Money. Sinclair Lewis is represented only by Main Street, and Theodore Dreiser by a
volume of short stories, although both are well known. Two of Eugene O'NeilFs plays
(Beyond the Horizon and The Moon of the Caribbees) have been translated. Pearl S.
Buck's The Good Earth exists in two Chinese translations, while her Sons and short
stories have also been translated.
The tide of Russian literature came in or about 1927 with the establishment of the
Nanking Government and the suppression of the communist movement. For, like
literary Jacobitism in England, which grew with the defeat of political Jacobitism,
literary Bolshevism inundated China after the success of the Nationalist revolution.
The tremendous young enthusiasm, which helped very largely to make the Nationalist
revolution in 1926-7 a reality, was denied fields of expression with the official
suppression of the Youth Movement by the Kuomintang, and a process of introversion
took place. A strong undercurrent was set on its way which grew from a general dissatisfaction with the things as they are.
And so the tide turned. The trumpet call for a "revolutionary literature" (synonymous
with "proletariat literature") was sounded and at oaee found a larce following Leaders
of Renaissance of 1917 became out of date overnight, and were generously labelled as
"old men." Young China was disgusted and rebelled. Most intellectual leaders had
learned to keep quiet and started collecting curios and old seals. Hu Shih continued to
thunder and to roar, but his words fell on a comparatively apathetic audience, which
wanted something very much more radical. Chou Tsojen, Yu Tafu and writers of the
Ytissu school were too much individualists to join the throng. Lusin fought, resisted
the tide for a year and then went over.
In the short space of hardly two years (1928-9), over a hundred Russian literary works,
long and short, were put on the market with hectic speed, before the Government
could quite wake up to the situation. These include works by the following authors:
Lunacharsky, Liebediensky, Michels, Fadeev, Gladhov, Kollontay, Shishkov,
Romanov, Pilniak, Ognyov, Sosnovsky, Shaginian, Yakovlev, Alexei Tolstoy,
Demidov, Erenburg, Arosev, Babel, Kasatkin, Ivanov, Iva, Luuts, Sannikoff,
Seyfullina, Bakhmetev, Fedin, Serafimovitch, Prishvin, Semenov, Sholokhov, NVNV,
Vessely, Zoschenko, Tretiakev, Sobole, Kolosov, Formanov, and Figner. We have
omitted to mention, of course, the "great Russians'* of prerevolutionary days, like
Pushkin, Tchekov, Tolstoy and Turgeniev, who had before this time been familiar to
the reading public. Tchekov's complete works have been translated; Tolstoy is known
through twenty of his works, including the long War and Peace (translated in part
only), Anna Karmina and The Resurrection; Dostoievsky is a great favourite (seven of
his works, including Crime and Punishment)} Turgeniev had long been known
(twenty-one of his works translated). Gorky, bridging across the two periods, is, of
course,, popular. Eroshenko, Andreyev and Artzybashev are also popular, due to
Lusin's influence. As a sign of the feverish demand for things Russian may be
mentioned the curious fact that twenty-three out of the barely over hundred
post-revolutionary works had double translations published by rival companies at
about the same time, including four which appeared in three simultaneous translations.
Among the more popular works may be mentioned Madame TCnllrmtav'o WalltntUin
and Die Raubtr}. Represented also are Lessing (Minna von Bamhdm}. Freytag (Die
Journalisten), Heine (Buck der Licder* selected, and Die H&rzreise} .... De la
MotteFouquc's Undine and Storm's Immensee (three translations) are extremely
popular, Hauptmann is known through his Die Wttxf) Dtr rot* H&hn, Dtr Biberpelz,
Einsame Menschen and his recent novel Der Kttzer ton Soana (two translations),
while his Du rersunktne Glocke was once the name of a magazine. Among others are
Suderrnann's Frau Sorge and more modern works like Wedekind's Fruhlings Erwachtn
and Leonhard Frank's Karl und Anna*
Apart from a few translations from Hawthorne, Mrs. Stowe, Irving, Mark Twain and
Jack London, the interest in American literature centres around more modern works. The best known is Upton Sinclair, whose popularity came with the tide of Russian
communist literature. Thirteen of his works have been translated, and in this category
may also be mentioned Michael Gold's short stories and his novel, Jews Without
Money. Sinclair Lewis is represented only by Main Street, and Theodore Dreiser by a
volume of short stories, although both are well known, Two of Eugene O'Neill's plays
(Beyond the Horizon and Th* Moon of the Caribbees) have been translated. Pearl S,
Buck's The Good Earth exists iii two Chinese translations, while her Sons and short
stories have also been translated.
The tide of Russian literature came in or about 1927 with the establishment of the
Nanking Government and the suppression of the communist movement. For, like
literary Jacobitism in England, which grew with the defeat of political Jacobitism,
literary Bolshevism inundated China after the success of the Nationalist revolution.
The tremendous young enthusiasm, which helped very largely to make the Nationalist
revolution in 1926-7 a reality, was denied fields of expression with the official
suppression of the Youth Movement by the Kuomintang, and a process of introversion
took place. A strong undercurrent was set on its way which grew from a general
dissatisfaction with the things as they are. ^ And so the tide turned. The trumpet call
for a "revolutionary literature" (synonymous with "proletariat literature") sounded and
at once found a large following. Leaders of the Renaissance of 1917 became out of
date overnight, and were generously labelled as "old men." Young China was
disgusted and rebelled. Most intellectual leaders had learned to keep quiet and started
collecting curios and old seals. Hu Shih continued to thunder and to roar, but his
words fell on a comparatively apathetic audience, which wanted something very much
more radical. Ghou Tsojen, Yu Tafu and writers of the Yiissu school were too much
individualists to join the throng. Lusin fought, resisted the tide for a year and then
went over.
In the short space of hardly two years (1928-9), over a hundred Russian literary works,
long and short, were put on the market with hectic speed, before the Government
could quite wake up to the situation. These include works by the following authors:
Lunacharsky, Liebediensky, Michels, Fadeev, Gladhov, Kollontay, Shishkov,
Romanov, Pilniak, Ognyov, Sosnovsky, Shaginian, Yakovlev, Alexei Tolstoy,
Demidov, Erenburg, Arosev, Babel, Kasatkin, Ivanov, Iva, Luuts, SannikofF,
Seyfullina, Bakhmetev, Fedin, Serafimovitch, Prishvin, Semenov, Sholokhov, NVNV,
