Chapter 3 1949 "Time Begins"

Genre: Poetry Author: Hu Feng Original publication: "People's Daily" Published: November 20, 1949 In the eastern corner of the world, an ancient nation ended its history of being humiliated and began to rise.In October 1949, a new life of the nation - the People's Republic of China was born, and the "time has begun" for the new regime. Hu Feng, a passionate poet who is sensitive to the pulse of the times, is intoxicated by the vigorous and upward atmosphere at this time, observing carefully and keenly feeling the call of the new republic.In Hu Feng's diary, he wrote: "In the past two months, a piece of music in my heart has uttered the strongest sound and reached a sweet peak." (Volume 10 of "Hu Feng's Complete Works", published by Hubei People Society, 1999) The "stream of music" in Hu Fengxin was later transformed into a long political lyric poem "The Time Has Begun" that was later called "the swan song of the founding of the country".This group of poems is the music in his heart, a sincere hymn he sang in the face of the new People's Republic, and also the "sweet peak" of his life. A tribute to the heroes of the people" (Wang Yao's "Historical Draft of Chinese New Literature", Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 1982). "Time Begins" includes "Ode to Joy" (November 11, 1949), "Praise of Glory" (November 26, 1949), "Youth Song" (December 1949-April 1951), (1949 December 31, 1950, later renamed "Heroes Spectrum") and "Another Ode to Joy" (January 13, 1950, later renamed "Ode to Victory"), with a symphonic structure of five movements, with a total of more than 4,600 lines. Created a precedent for the creation of contemporary "carols".

The series of poems "The Time Has Begun" is the poet's life experience of hardships and twists in the process of pain and joy for most of his life. This experience was sublimated in the face of the victory of the new republic. The aspirations of the people were heard, and the rebirth of the times was praised. "Ode to Joy" is written about the joyful scene at the opening of the Political Consultative Conference, expressing the sincere and warm feelings of cheering for the liberation of the motherland and praising Mao Zedong, and showing the arduous and remarkable course of the revolution. "Praise of Glory" represents the poverty and suffering of the Chinese people represented by Li Xiuzhen, Rong Guanxiu, Li Fenglian, and the poet's mother, and extols the virtues of simplicity, innocence, humility, and dedication of the Chinese working people. "Youth Song" uses grass and snowflakes to express love and gratitude to the party, the young republic, and the new life. "The Spectrum of Heroes" begins with the poet's participation in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Monument to the People's Heroes. He deeply misses the martyrs Yang Chao, Fu Guoquan, Yuan Xiyan, and Qiu Dongping, as well as Kobayashi Takiji and Lu Xun who led him on the road of revolutionary literature and art. Waiting for the teachers, praised the spirit of the heroes who dedicated themselves to the people, the motherland, and the cause of communism. "Ode to Victory" is the emotional expression of the poet when he participated in the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. It enthusiastically praised the founding of the Republic and the labor, struggle and creation of the people under the leadership of the party. It is also another ode dedicated to Mao Zedong.

It should be said that in the face of the arrival of new China, Hu Feng was completely immersed in selfless political enthusiasm based on his sincere emotion for the pursuit of art in his heart. "Time Has Begun" is a jet of heat that has been smoldering in his heart for decades. As a metaphor, "time" not only symbolizes the end of an old era and the beginning of a new era, but also indicates the new beginning of the poet's self after following the victory of the revolution.Hu Feng himself later said: "For myself, I have pursued this revolution for most of my life, and put all my loyalty in longing for the victory of this revolution. Now that I have received this victory, I should stand on my side as a writer Support this revolution in front of the people, praise this revolution, and explain this revolution." "During the CPPCC meeting and after the founding of New China, the great sense of happiness lifted my mood." (The Complete Works of Hu Feng, Volume 10, Hubei People's Publishing House, 1999) Therefore, even when his personal situation was not good at that time, he still wrote "Time Has Began" with "grateful feelings", and wrote a "fellow traveler" to Mao Zedong and the Communist Party. All emotions.In his letter to Niu Han on January 16, 1951, he wrote: "When I wrote "Time" and so on, I completely confirmed what Brock said. When I wrote it, the entire history and the entire universe converged into one The rushing sea ("Ode to Joy"), the rushing river ("Praise to Glory"), the sunny sea ("Ode to Joy") are ringing in my heart, and sometimes I even feel burning like suffocation." Lu Yuan later recalled that Hu Feng “often said in letters to me at that time that in order to write poetry, he could not sleep all night. … He wrote all night intoxicated, and wrote a giant symphony-like epic volume “Time Has Begun.” ". He seems to be fulfilling his inescapable obligation to history: he has to write these long poems, he has to sing the songs that millions of people want to sing, and at the same time, these long poems seem to have to be He, the poet who 'has been in the sea', wrote it." ("Complete Compilation of Hu Feng Poems", Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, 1992)

On November 20, 1949, the "People's Daily" supplement "People's Literature and Art" published half a page of the first movement "Ode to Joy" of Hu Feng's poem "Time Has Begun". The whole poem has about 400 lines.After publication, the response was great. "Surprised everyone."It was soon translated into Russian and published in the former Soviet Union's "October" magazine. On December 30, a booklet was published.On the third day after the poem appeared in the newspaper, Hu Feng received a congratulatory letter from Wang Yaping, a "communist poet", praising him for "the first to praise Mao Zedong". Hu Feng was extremely excited by the success of "The Time Has Began" after it was published, and he immediately wrote to his friend saying, "It can add something to Lulu for the new poem."Just as Niu Han said in "Complete Compilation of Hu Feng's Poems": "I think the magnificent "Time Begins" can best confirm Hu Feng's poetic theory." The beginning of a new phase."

Judging from the actual situation, after the founding of the Republic in 1949, Hu Feng was not the first person to "sing the praises of Mao Zedong" and the great motherland.Earlier than Hu Feng were Xu Fang, Wang Yaping and He Qifang.The title of Xu Fang's poem is "Ode to New China". The whole poem has about 200 lines and was published on the seventh page of "People's Daily" on October 1, 1949. / The east of the world is also lit up. / Today / China is China with colorful lights, / The world is a world full of jubilation /... This is thousands of years, / This is nearly a hundred years, / This is the Chinese people / People of the world / The result of the struggle;/This is the ideological achievement of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin/and Mao Zedong./From today,/In the history of China/Mao Zedong should be written,/In the history of the world,/Mao Zedong should be written; ..." Wang Yaping's poem is titled "Welcome to the People's Republic of China", and the whole poem has about 200 lines.The poet chanted: "Salute! / Face the helmsman who holds the wheel of history - Chairman Mao! / The practitioner of Marxism-Leninism, / The savior of the suffering people, / The mentor of the Chinese proletarian revolution! / We - the people of the whole country / Use With unshakable and indestructible confidence, / With a love as high as mountains and as deep as seas, / Welcome the young China! / Welcome the age of construction!..." After He Qifang participated in the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , also wrote "Our Greatest Holiday" with passion, which was published in the first issue of "People's Literature" (October 25, 1949).The fourth stanza of the poem reads: "Mao Zedong, our leader, our prophet! / He told us to call out Japanese imperialism, / Japanese imperialism was overthrown by us! / He told us to call out Chiang Kai-shek , / Chiang Kai-shek was defeated by us! / He told us to expel U.S. imperialism from China, / U.S. imperialism was expelled by us! /... Mao Zedong, / Your name is the strength and wisdom of the Chinese people! / Your name is the confidence and victory of the Chinese people!"

Wang Yaping clearly knew that others and himself sang before Hu Feng, so why did he congratulate Hu Feng for being "the first to sing the praises of Mao Zedong"?According to Lumei’s article "The Tragic and Provocative Journey of Xu Fang, His Man and His Poems", Hu Feng "lived in many difficulties" at that time, and Xu Fang "cared for Hu Feng very deeply".Therefore, "he often engages in some 'talking' activities, suggesting that some predecessors in the literary and art circles who understand and sympathize with Hu Feng visit Hu Feng and help him relieve his loneliness. For example, in the early 1950s, Hu Feng's long poem "Time Has Begun" first After the movement "Ode to Joy" was published, Xu Fang called Comrade Yaping and asked him to encourage Hu Feng, and Yaping really wrote to Hu Feng, praising his poem and expressing his congratulations. It turned out that Wang Yaping congratulated Hu Feng Feng said that he was "the first to praise Mao Zedong", all because of the kind encouragement of Xu Fang and Wang Yaping.

With the successive publication of the series of poems "Time Has Begun", Hu Feng also began to receive criticism and accusations from various quarters. Only four months after Wang Yaping wrote his congratulatory letter to Hu Feng, he wrote an article titled "The Poet's Standpoint" ("Literary News" Volume 1, Issue 12, March 1950), which aimed at the fifth movement of the group poem. "Ode to Victory" compares Mao Zedong to "a girl in first love" and criticizes Hu Feng for "sitting on the side of the petty bourgeoisie." It is a praise without power, distorting the fact of the people's victory, and comparing the people's leaders very inappropriately. Regardless of the author's motivation, its effect will always be bad, and it will be harmful."

Yuan Shuipai in "The Bankruptcy of Hu Feng's Theory from the Creation of Hu Feng" ["People's Daily", February 20, 1955, "Critical Papers on Hu Feng's Literary Thoughts" (three episodes), Writers Press, 1955] , accusing Hu Feng of "distortingly depicting Comrade Mao Zedong's image as a god standing in the clouds who is separated from the masses", "this kind of exaggerated tone is the same as Comrade Mao Zedong's often said 'honest, hardworking', 'willing to do nothing. How different are the thoughts of Ruziniu and Gandang primary school students!" "He promoted individualism and idealism in the most important part of the poem, and distorted the revolutionary movement." "Hu Feng not only did not describe his passion for the people and the motherland, his desire and dedication, but also tried his best to praise himself in the name of the motherland, and the praise of himself was much more specific and "sincere" than the praise of the motherland. Of the four existing 'Musics', the 'Requiem' is nearly as long as the other three parts put together, and this part is less about commemorating the dead than about the self". "Writing an autobiography in a poem that praises the motherland, and keeps saying that 'I' is juxtaposed with the motherland, this is not a small piece of individual heroism, but a lot of individual heroism!" He also said: "Hu Feng's own creative practice, His long poem is one of the answers. He holds his own "party spirit" - "sincerity", and believes that as long as he is loyal to himself and his own subjectivity, he believes that as long as he strengthens his "subjective fighting spirit" and "self-expansion", " Dissecting oneself', 'overcoming one's own dual personality', you can write good works without going deep into the masses and studying life. But what is the result? The result is that people and history are distorted, typical characters are fabricated, and one's own personal The black paint of doctrine and idealism is applied to the objects. Hu Feng's creative practice fully proves the bankruptcy of his literary theory!"

In addition, Xiao San, who once affirmed "Time Has Begun", said that Hu Feng's poems contained "complaints" in the "Literary Newspaper" about poems, and Sha Ou said that there were "pornography" in the poems, and so on.It can be said that in the era when literary and artistic thoughts were fully integrated, the judgment of Hu Feng was completely one-sided.Huang Yaomian's long criticism "Comment on "Time Has Began"" published in the sixth issue of "Popular Poetry" was considered by Hu Feng as "not starting from the content at all, and casually adding distorted explanations to the content. For example, the first article wrote What he wrote was the opening ceremony of the CPPCC, but he was writing about the founding ceremony of Tiananmen Square.”He was also critical of the works that praised the leaders of the new regime, which was enough to reflect Huang Yaomian's political sensitivity at the time.Perhaps, he had already foreseen that Hu Feng's literary and artistic thoughts were not only incompatible with the new regime, but also did not give up his views and submit to them consciously, and would undoubtedly become an inevitable "other".Therefore, no matter how passionate Hu Feng's new works are, they are subject to criticism, and there are reasons for criticism.

In 1954, Hu Feng wrote a report on the practice of literature and art to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, that is, the famous "Book of 300,000 Words", which became the direct fuse of the "Hu Feng Incident". In 1955, he was criticized and promoted from "anti-Party" to "counter-revolutionary". He was exiled and imprisoned for more than 20 years until 1980 when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a decision to rehabilitate the "Hu Feng counter-revolutionary clique".The issue of Hu Feng is a great injustice case in the history of Chinese contemporary literary thought.Although there are still different opinions on what Hu Feng put forward and insisted on in theory and creation, its significance is beyond doubt.As far as the group poem "Time Has Begun" is concerned, although reason is not unreasonable over emotion, straightforwardness, slogans, and certain imbalances in form, the sincerity and conscience shown by the poet adopt the "ego" approach to The artistic strategy of "big self" still has enlightening significance for the creation of contemporary lyric poetry.

If it is too demanding to say that "Time Begins" "pursuits the scale of an 'epic'. However, their ambiguity and a certain degree of idealization make this work fail to succeed" is too demanding, then Luyuan, Niu The evaluation of Han and others is more objective, saying that "Time Begins" is "an epic scroll like a giant symphony", and said: "Today's young readers do not have enough sense of history, and I am afraid it is not easy to enter the author's spiritual world. As far as poetry and poetry are concerned, there is no doubt about the status of "Time Has Begun" in the history of literature." ("Compilation of Hu Feng Poems" Compilation Yu Conversation Record) Lou Shiyi commented that "Time Has Began" is "representing thousands of An epic work with the true feelings of thousands of people" ("Hu Feng Poetry Complete Compilation Preface").Zhao Jinzhong also believes that because of its "broad vision, deep connotation, dense emotion, or in terms of vivid form and unrestrained style", it "is the best among political lyric poems".In Shang Yanling's article "The Swan Song of the Founding of the People's Republic of China: On Hu Feng's "Time Has Begun"" (Journal of Hexi University, No. 1, 2006), he believed that this long political lyric poem "is the history of the suffering of the Chinese people for thousands of years, and The history of the Chinese people's struggle for freedom and liberation for decades is the expression and expression of the Chinese people's heartfelt love for the party and the people's leaders when the People's Republic of China was founded. A tall and magnificent monument to the poems erected, but also an ode to the working people".People can have different opinions on "Time Has Begun", but its exploration of epic character with "time consciousness" is undoubtedly valuable. (Written by Wang Juchuan) "Criticism of Hu Feng's Literary Thought", New Literature and Art Publishing House, 1955 edition "Hu Feng Commentary Collection" (three volumes), People's Literature Publishing House, 1984 edition Yang Kuanghan: "Learning from the Past and Knowing the Future - Notes on Fragments of Some of Hu Feng's Poetic Theories", "Poetry Magazine", No. 8, 1985 Edited by Liang Zhenru and Gu Rongjia: "Footprints of those who overcame the thorns and forests", Liaoning University Press, 1988 edition Luyuan: "Hu Feng and I", "Hu Feng and I", edited by Xiaofeng, Ningxia People's Publishing House, 1993 edition "Complete Compilation of Hu Feng Poetry", Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, 1992 Edition Shi Suo, Wan Jiaji: "Feng Xuefeng in the Vortex of Political Criticism", "New Literature Historical Materials", No. 2, 1992