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How did the Sino-Japanese War influence the subjects and purposes of Chinese writing?
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Chinese literature
Zhang Fei on the Long Sloped Bridge Turning Away One Million Wei Troops with a Powerful Stare, woodblock colour print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1884. It depicts a scene from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
During the Sino-Japanese War (1937â45), Chinese literature underwent a significant transformation as writers relocated to the interior to support the national war effort. The primary purpose of writing shifted toward patriotic service, organized under the All-China Anti-Japanese Federation of Writers and Artists.1
The influence of the war on literary subjects and formats included:
- Rise of Reportage: Writers were encouraged to visit the front lines and the countryside, leading to the prominence of baogao wenxue (reportage), which captured the realities of the conflict.1
- Accessible Genres: Literary output prioritized short, adaptable formats suitable for wartime conditions, including topical patriotic verse, war-zone dispatches, and short, easily produced plays.1
- Propaganda and Mobilization: Literature, particularly drama, became an effective medium for propaganda, designed to bolster national resistance.2
- Thematic Focus: While some authors like Ding Ling continued to explore social conditions and the female psyche, the overarching literary climate was defined by a collective commitment to the resistance, with many writers choosing to remain in China to serve the nation.1