An unlucky muse from northeast China: A study of Duanmu Hongliang during the War of Resistance.

摘要

This dissertation aims at constructing a framework for reappraising Duanmu Hongliang (1912-) as well as exploring his fiction written during the War of Resistance (1931-1945). These Duanmu's works have been much neglected but merit critical attention. First, a biographical examination of Duanmu's life focuses on his development as a Northeastern writer, and reveals certain inner conflicts arising from his being both an individualistic writer and a radical follower of the Leftist movement during the 1930s and 1940s. Then, my textual analysis focuses on Duanmu's epic novel, The Korchin Banner Plains, and two other short stories, which stand out because of their exotic nativism and panoramic description of domestic history. In his fiction, the human world is realistic, domestic and cruel; whereas the natural world is idyllic, enchanted and humane. By making the Northeast the background of his fictional world, Duanmu highlights the untamed wildness of nature and the spaciousness of the plains in a lyrical and romantic way. The colorful presentation of local ritual, custom, and culture creates a regional flavor and demonstrates Duanmu's technical mastery that his contemporaries lack. My narratological reading is centered on Duanmu's stylistic arrangement of his narration. Through the medium of "mute" language in his fictional discourse, Duanmu deals with voice, multi-lingual elements and sounds, which create a polyphonic effect. Duanmu's command of color and perspective enhances his descriptions by making the text unusually visual. The reader's imagination must bridge the gap between textual invisibility and imaginary visibility. The use of cinematic montage in the narrative tempts the reader to view the text from different angles. Duanmu uses ellipsis effectively to control the rhythm of the spatial-temporal movement in the narrative. Thematically his fiction can be roughly divided into three categories: national/regional, domestic, and the personal. The theme of imminent national crisis in Duanmu's fiction is often tied to the decline of family or personal psychosis. He thus focuses on subjectivity rather than objectivity. His novels are exemplary in exploring the mentality and psyche of the individual at extraordinary historical moments.