Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.4, 2020

Hu Qiuyuan and The Dissemination and Acceptance of Plekhanov’s Literary Theory in China

(Abstract)

Wu Shuqiao

Hu Qiuyuan’s personal experience during the Great Revolution was the historical starting point of his acceptance of Plekhanov’s theory of literature and art. His theoretical interest lied in the interpretation of literature with historical materialism, and the relationship between “Literature” and “revolution” was his consistent “problem consciousness.” Hu Qiuyuan developed his theory of “literary freedom” from Plekhanov’s theory of literature and art, showing a centrifugal tendency to the left in both theory and reality.