Chapter 13 On Our Present Literary Movement

——Responding to an interviewer while sick, OV transcript The "Left-Wing Writers Union" has led and fought over the past five or six years, and it is a movement of proletarian revolutionary literature.This literature and movement have been developing all the time; until now it has developed more concretely and practically into the popular literature of the national revolutionary war.The popular literature of the national revolutionary war is a development of proletarian revolutionary literature, and it is the real and broader content of proletarian revolutionary literature at the present time.This kind of literature already exists, and it is about to build on this foundation, cultivated by actual combat life, and bloom brilliantly.Therefore, the introduction of the new slogan should not be regarded as the cessation of the revolutionary literary movement, or as "there is no way forward".Therefore, it is by no means to stop the struggle against fascism and against the blood of all reactionaries in the past, but to deepen this struggle, expand it, be more practical, and turn it into a struggle against Japan and traitors. , Converge all struggles into the general flow of the struggle against Japanese traitors.It is by no means that revolutionary literature wants to give up its responsibility of class leadership, but to make its responsibility even heavier and larger, so heavy and large that it must make the whole nation, regardless of class or party affiliation, unanimously go to the outside world.The standpoint of this nation is really the foundation of class.Trotsky's Chinese descendants seem so confused that they don't even understand this.But some of my comrades-in-arms actually have the opposite "good dreams", I think, they are also extremely confused and stupid.

But the popular literature of the national revolutionary war, like the slogan of the literature of the proletarian revolution, is probably a general slogan.Under the general slogan, there are some specific slogans that can be adapted at any time, such as "National Defense Literature", "National Salvation Literature", "Anti-Japanese Literature and Art"... etc., I think it is all right.Not only does it not hinder, but it is beneficial and necessary.Of course, too much can also make people dizzy and confused. However, it is very easy to raise slogans and make empty theories.However, there are problems in applying it in criticism and realizing it in creation.Both criticism and creation are practical work.Based on past experience, our criticisms often tend to be too narrow and our views are too superficial; our creations often show weaknesses that are close to stereotypes.So I think we should pay special attention to this point now: the popular literature of the National Revolutionary War is by no means limited to writing about volunteer soldiers fighting, student petitions and demonstrations, etc. Works.These are certainly the best, but should not be so narrow.It is much broader, broad enough to include all literature that describes the consciousness of various lives and struggles in China today.Because the biggest problem in China now, the problem shared by everyone, is the problem of national survival.All life (including eating and sleeping) is related to this issue; for example, eating may have nothing to do with love, but at present, Chinese people’s eating and love have something to do with the Japanese invaders. Let’s take a look at the situation in Manchuria and North China. You can understand.And the only way out for China is the national revolutionary war against Japan.Knowing this, a writer observes life and handles materials as if they are in order; the writer can freely write about workers, peasants, students, robbers, prostitutes, poor people, rich people, whatever material is fine, and any material can become a nation. Popular Literature of the Revolutionary War.There is also no need to intentionally insert a national revolutionary war tail at the back of the work and raise it up as a flag; because what we need is not the slogans and fake tails added to the work, but the real life in the whole work. , lively battles, beating pulses, thoughts and enthusiasm, and so on.June tenth.

CC [1] This article was originally published simultaneously in July 1936, the first issue of the monthly "Reality Literature" and the second issue of the first volume of the monthly "Literary World".