Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.2, 2020

Reconsidering the Classical Meaning and Aesthetic Value of Cao Yu’s Plays

(Abstract)

Song Jianhua

Cao Yu’s four works, namely Thunderstorm, Sunrise, The Wilderness and Peking Man, are not determined by critics, but by readers and audiences with endless enthusiasm. Cao Yu transcended the surface phenomenon of real life, explored the diversity and complexity of human soul with his own moral standards, and deeply expressed his noble sentiment of caring for life through the expression of tragic art. Cao Yu’s classical plays pursue the perceptual power of art aesthetics, and are good at promoting the progressive development and climax of the plot with the contradiction of “self contradictory”, creating a national style that is very popular with readers and audiences.