The pursuits and transitions of a modern intellectual : a study of the literary and academic achievements of Liu Bannong = 現代知識份子的角色探索與轉型 : 論劉半農的創作與學術

Abstract

This dissertation attempted to study Liu Bannong, one of the most unique intellectuals during late Qing and Republican China. He wrote popular fiction during the 1910s in Shanghai, then became a radical initiator of the New Culture Movement, and later was a professor of experimental phonetics at Beijing University. Due to the left-wing narration of literary history after 1949, Liu Bannong and his contributions were distorted and underestimated. What’s more, his late style of conservatism and liberalism has been criticized and deliberately misunderstood ever since. The research focus of this dissertation was to explore several dramatic transitions during Liu’s lifetime and the progress of his pursuits as a modern intellectual. Through in-depth analysis of the texts and investigation of his diverse thoughts at different stages, Liu Bannong’s literary and academic achievements were also reassessed.

This dissertation consisted of six chapters. Chapter One introduced the study, detailing the research problems being addressed, the methodology, the research structure and also the biographical sketch of Liu Bannong. Previous studies on Liu Bannong and modern intellectuals were briefly presented as well.

Chapter Two dealt with Liu Bannong’s three basic intellectual periods: traditional, public and organic. In this chapter, several historical events and their influence on Liu were examined. As a result, his complicated attitude towards modernity and intellectual identity was illustrated comprehensively.

Liu Bannong’s fiction writing was the focus of Chapter Three. His fiction was categorized into three genres: detective stories, realistic fiction and satire fiction. Special attention was paid to his only satirical novel, Last Days of Shanghai, which was also his best work in fictional writing.

Chapter Four discussed Liu Bannong’s late style of writing through close examination of his prose and poems. In his last days, Liu picked up doggerel and familiar essays in classic Chinese instead of using vernacular Chinese. His obscure transition in writing style was one of the most important yet neglected topics in studies of his work.

Chapter Five examined Liu Bannong’s identities as a research scholar and as an eclectic. As a modern intellectual, Liu’s interests were wide ranging, including folkloristics, linguistics, photographical and bibliographical studies. Liu has contributed a lot to the modernization and development of such fields in Republican China.

Finally, the conclusion chapter summed up the uniqueness and representativeness of Liu Bannong as a modern intellectual in his time, and his literary and academic achievements were also re-appraised. In addition, Liu Bannong’s contributions and limitations were consequently expounded.