On the Chinese Characteristics of Literary Federation System

Zhou+Fengmei

[Abstract] The literary federation system is a cultural system with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese characteristics of the literary federation system are mainly embodied in： it is the embodiment of the United Front under the leadership of the Communist Party of China in the field of literature and art， an important system to promote the popularization of literature and art， and a supplement to the system of honors in the cultural field of new China.

[Keyword] the literary federation； system； Chinese characteristics； CCP

After nearly 70 years of development， China Federation of Literary and Art Circles （CFLAC） system has been continuously improved and its whole set of functional system has been formed. An Introduction to the Work of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles， which was edited by CFLAC in 2011， proposed that the functions of the Federation of Literature and Art Circles （literary federation） include five aspects： organization， coordination， guidance， service and rights-protection. The important role of literary federations work is mainly embodied in four aspects： first， to promote the construction of socialist core value system； second， to promote the protection of the basic cultural rights and interests of the people； third， to enhance the national cultural soft power； and fourth， to strengthen people's spiritual strength.[1]This is a relatively complete summary of the function of today's literary federation. If we consider the history of CFLAC and the history of modern Chinese literature and art movement， and further compare with the system of literature and art of other countries， especially the Soviet Union， we can find that the literary federation has its own Chinese characteristics. The Chinese characteristics of the literary federation reflect the Chinese characteristics of the socialist cultural system with Chinese characteristics.

The United Front under the Leadership of CCP in the Field of Literature and Art

The reason why Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party （CCP） attached great importance to the literary federation system was that FLAC was the embodiment of the partys United Front in the field of literature and art. Therefore， the ideas of establishing such a leading society of literary and art circles， then organizing the literary and art circles， and playing its great role on the masses， have a great influence on the success of Chinese revolution， construction and reform. Because of this， Zhou Enlai and Guo Moruo are very much in agreement with Mao Zedongs repeated emphasis on the idea of establishing a “cultural army”.[2]In the speech of Chinese national congress of literary and art workers， Zhou Enlai and Guo Moruo have repeatedly used the concepts of “l(fā)iterary and art army （wenyi jundui） ”， “l(fā)iterary and art main forces （wenyi dajun） ” and “l(fā)iterary and art troops （wenyi budui） ”. Zhou Enlai described Chinese national congress of literary and art workers as the “great joined forces” of the two “l(fā)iterary and art main forces” from the liberated areas and the KMT-controlled areas.[3]Guo Moruo took “Keep up with the Military Front” as the title of his paper， which was published on Peoples Daily on the day of the opening ceremony of Chinese national congress of literary and art workers.[4]

In the study of literature in the Mao Zedong era since the Yanan period， Chen Sihe put forward the concept of “war cultural psychology”， which has three basic characteristics： first， the clear purpose and utility， which lead to the conflict between the functions of literature propaganda and authenticity； second， the dichotomy thinking habit is misused， which leads to the sameness of literary creation； third， the establishment of the keynote of heroism and optimism， which leads to the abolition of socialist tragedy.[5]This opinion is very acute， but Chens main concern is the militarization in literary works and the writers psychology， which is the negative influence of the concept of “l(fā)iterary and art army” on literary works and writers psychology after excessive expansion and blind implementation. But from the point of view of the system of literature and art， the united front， as effective thought and idea in the military and political fields， should be reasonable when applied to the field of literature and art. Yang Hansheng linked to his long experience in the united front of literature and art circles in the KMT-controlled areas， and said， “One of our magic weapons to vanquish enemies is that the united front put forward by Comrade Mao Zedong. In those years， we carried out Comrade Mao Zedong's united front policy and united most of them， thus it broke the plot of the Kuomintang reactionaries. Many writers and artists with sense of justice， even though they had different personalities and experiences， had the pure hearts of newborn babies， loving the motherland and being dissatisfied with Chiang Kai Sheks dark reign. For decades， I worked in the KMT-controlled areas with dangerous conditions， if there were no such a group of like-minded friends， I couldnt do anything.”[6]

In fact， after the establishment of literary federation， especially in the Korean War and in the bringing order out of chaos in literary and art circles in the early stage of reform and opening up， it have played an important and positive role， which should not be denied. Until today， literary federation still plays an important role in the joining up and united front work. The scope of the united front work of literary federation is extremely extensive. It not only combines the various art forms in the Chinese literary and art field， but also combines the literature and art of all fraternal nationalities in China， this multi-nationality country， and also combines the various cities and villages in the vast territory of China. As a result of the universal influence of this joint action， some overseas Chinese even imitate the literary federation system of the motherland and set up literary federation in the local areas.[7]General secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the speech at the opening ceremony of the tenth congress of CFLAC and the ninth congress of China Writers Association： “CFLAC and China Writers Association are the links and bridges between Party and government and the broad masses of the literary and art workers， and they play important roles in the unity of literary and art workers.”[8]This is the current recognition and emphasis of the leadership of the CCP on the United Front function of the literary federation.

An Important System for Promoting the Popularization ofLiterature and Art

When the constitution promulgated by CFLAC， one of the important tasks of CFLAC is “to actively help and guide the mass literature and art activities in various parts of the country”， at the same time， CFLAC also set up a ministry of guidance to guide the mass literature and art activities of workers， peasants and soldiers. In March 1950， CFLAC established Chinese Folk Literature and Art Research Association （later renamed as Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association）； one of its important responsibilities is to guide nationwide folk literature and art activities. The popularization function of CFLAC is closely related to its nature and characteristics.

There are writers associations in many countries， but only a few countries have the leading organizations in the whole literature and art sphere. The establishing of the literary federation systems in China， Vietnam， Cuba and other socialist countries， have a great relationship to socialism， because socialist countries always attach great importance to the construction of socialist culture， so as to serve the broad masses of the people， and to pay attention to the importance of the popularization of literature and art. At the national level， the CCP and the regime under its leadership， of course， hope to rapidly promote the popularization of literature and art and culture； but from the aspect of intellectuals， writers and artists are confronted with inner entanglements. The literary intellectuals， especially those who have a certain status， naturally pursue high artistic and ideological quality， and hope to create fine art so that to establish reputation as an authority and to deliver their works through generations. However， the expectation of the Party and the country is that the literary intellectuals， from the palace of literature and art to the factories， mines and fields， work with the workers， peasants and soldiers， and create popular works that people enjoy. After the founding of new China， the debate between Zhao Shuli and Ding Ling on the popularization and enhancement of literature and art clearly demonstrated the inner contradictions of literary intellectuals. Obviously， only a few writers， such as Zhao Shuli， who emphasize “put up a literary stall （bai wentan）” and devote themselves to folk literature and art. More writers still value high-quality literary products， and even if these products are not accepted by the general public for a while， they dont care. Because of this， it is almost impossible to promote the popularization of literature and art through the individual efforts of literary intellectuals. With its great organizational system and high political authority， the literary federation system can make up for the lack of individual strength of literary and art intellectuals.

In addition， since the scope of the United Front of the literary federation is very extensive， it also provides important conditions for promoting the popularization of literature and art. Compared to the number of minorities who can both sing and dance， the number of writers is not quite a few. However， if the minority compatriots are able to sing and dance very well， they can also join the literary federation. In Chinas vast grass roots， especially in the countryside， there are many peasants and citizens who understand literature and art， but they know more folk art， Chinese opera， couplets， New Year paintings and other folk literature and art. What they know is often very superficial， and they still need guidance and improvement， so it is more appropriate to incorporate them into literary federation than writers associations， dramatists associations， or to set up a local folk literature and art association. [9]

A Supplement to the System of Honorin the Cultural Field of New China

The development of the national honor system in new China is lagging behind. In the Mao Zedong Era， the development of this system was particularly inadequate. Mao Zedong thought highly of the literary federation system， because the literary federation could give literary intellectuals social statuses. The establishment of this system has played an active role in increasing the reputation of writers and artists. First of all， the Mao Zedong Era is a period that attaches great importance to spiritual stimulation rather than material stimulation. For writers and artists， they need to be given some honors at that time so as to arouse their enthusiasm for serving the country. Secondly， in the Mao Zedong Era with “popularization first” as the basic direction， the attention to personalized high-quality works is not as prominent as it is now， and there is a lack of awards and honors such as todays Mao Dun Literature Prize and Lu Xun Literature Prize， which highlight individual artistic talent. Therefore， the posts of chairman， vice chairmen and members of the literary federation form an important supplement to the national cultural honor system.

With the development of history， chairman of the literary federation is still a kind of honorary position in the socialist culture system with Chinese characteristics. Many people only understand the chairman of the literary federation from the name of “chairman”， which leads to the conclusion that the chairman of the literary federation does not have much power， and it is nominal and dispensable. We should know that the position of chairman of literary federation is not only political authority， but also knowledge authority and organization authority. The name of the chairman of the literary federation affirms the reality of his/her literary achievements or literary organizational contribution， not just political reality. If we understand like this， the name and the reality of the chairman of the literary federation are identical. The honor of the chairman of the literary federation is both recognition and greater responsibility and commitment. The chairman of the literary federation should lead the broad masses of writers and artists to make their due contributions to the construction of Chinese literature and art and the use of literature and art in telling Chinese stories.

reference documentation：

[1]Zhongguo Wenlian（China Federation of Literary and Art Circles）ed. Wenlian Gongzuo Gailun （Introduction to the work of literary federation），Beijing：Zhongguo Wenlian Chubanshe（China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing House），2011，chapter 4.

[2]Mao Zedong.Mao Zedong Xuanji（Selected works of Mao Zedong），Beijing：Renmin Chubanshe（People's Publishing House），Vol.3，1991， P.847.

[3]Wenhuabu Wenxue Yishu Yanjiuyuan （Institute of literature and art of the Ministry of Culture） ed.Zhou Enlai Lun Wenyi（Zhou Enlai on literature and art），Renmin Wenxue Chubanshe（People's Literature Publishing House），1979，P.12.

[4]Guo Moruo：“Xiang Junshi Zhanxian Kanqi （Keep up with the Military Front）”，Renmin Ribao （People's Daily），Tekan （special issue），1949-07-02.

[5]Chen Sihe：Sihe Wencun（Selected works of Chen Sihe），vol.2， Huangshan Chubanshe （Mount Huangshan Publishing House），2013，pp.152-158.

[6] Fang Xiu：Jinghua Renwu （Characters of Capital Beijing）. Cuangdong Renmin Chubanshe （Guangdong People's Publishing House）， 1983， P. 3.

[7]For example，in January 2008，Venezuela's Overseas Chinese Association of Literature and Art Lovers （abbreviated as “Literary Federation”） was established in Caracas.See Gao Weinong： Weineiruila Huaqiao shilue （A Brief History of Overseas Chinese in Venezuela）， Xuelin Chubanshe （Academia Press）， 2011，P.178.

[8]Xi Jinping：“Zai Zhongguo Wenlian Shida， Zhongguo Zuoxie Jiuda Kaimushi Shang De Jianghua （Talks at the Opening Ceremony of the Tenth Congress of the Chinese Literary Federation and Ninth Congress of the Chinese Writers Association）”，Renmin Ribao （People's Daily）， 2016-12-01.

[9]In fact，at present，many Chinese towns and streets have set up literary federation，and even some urban and rural communities have established literary federation.For example，in November 2010，Shanghai's first community literature federation—Lujiazui Community Literature Federation was founded.