The Long-Lasting Influence of Ideological Prejudices: The Case of Ye Lingfeng (1905-1975), a Misunderstood Writer and Intellectual in Modern China

Abstract

Through the works and some biographical issues of Ye Lingfeng (1905-1975), one of the writers of the so-called Shanghai School (haipai, 海派), this paper aims to offer some hints of the multi-folded bunch of prejudices which the history of modern Chinese literature is intertwined with.

To reach this goal, the following issues will be taken into consideration:

1. an analysis of Ye Lingfeng’s early production,  before his moving from mainland China to Hongkong –  with particular reference to  The Dream of a Virgin Chunüde meng, (处女的梦, Chunüde meng), in comparison with Ding Ling (丁玲) Miss Sophia’s Diary (Shafei nüshi de rij, 莎菲女士的日记); to which a much bigger success arose;

2.  a general description of the complicated issues which led inflicting on him the very unfair label of being a “traitor”,  moving from his clash with Lu Xun in the late The twenties and early Thirties to his “collaboration” with the Nationalist Party during the first period of his staying in Hong Kong;

3. an overview of his literary works in order to highlight his way to connect traditional and modern literary tradition, which – if prejudices were not working - could provide some suggestions to the core issue of the relationship between “classic” (feudal?) literature and the literature of New China.