Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.2, 2019

The Changing Connotation of “Renmin” (People) and Its Impact on Literature

(Abstract)

Zhao Yanqiu

The connotation of the concept “renmin” (people) has changed continuously at various stages of Marxist literary thoughts. Precisely, the CPC leaders’ interpretations of “people” of successive generations have become the major constituent of “the view of people” in Chinese Marxist literary thought. President Xi Jinping’s view of “people” is based on a more open-minded society, which incorporates a broader international outlook. It effectively concerns the entire people, and in the meantime, the individuals. Different views of “people” have influenced literary and artistic production of different periods. In the early years of the twentieth century, revolutionary literature and proletariat literature were propagated, and literature at that time was keen to portray workers and city residents. During the Yan’an period and the early years of the new China, literary creation paid special attention to the countryside and peasants, emphasizing the class the characters belong to.The more diversified literary styles and genres in the 1980s, as well as the changes in literary form, content and thought in the new era, are in tune with the renewed interpretation of “people”.