出版“趣味”:《红杂志》研究, 1922-1932 = Amusing the Public: A Study of The Scarlet Magazine (1922-1932)

Abstract

Focusing on the popular Scarlet Magazine (1922-1932) and the key term b quweib (amusement), this thesis draws attention to the often-overlooked entertaining writing and tracks its social and cultural meanings from the 19th to the early 20th century. It argues that, with a primary emphasis on a petty urbanites (xiao shimin) audience, b quweib served as a platform that enabled magazine contributors to express their concerns and ideas on Chinab s modernization through an alternative discourse, which presents a sharp while interesting contrast to the nationalist rhetoric of prominent May Fourth protagonists. To contextualize the magazine and illustrate the historical setting of entertaining writing, the first part of the thesis, chapters one and two, offers an in-depth analysis of the professionalism of the contributors from late imperial China to the early Republican era. It scrutinizes how the development of print culture, commercialization of the literary writing, and contributorsb transformation from literati to professional journalists have propelled the emergence and dissemination of entertaining writing. Chapter three explores the discursive meaning of b quweib within the magazine and chapter four, a multi-layered case study, examines Cheng Zhanlub s works and demonstrates how he and other contributors addressed the b new womenb issue in the guise of entertaining writing. It concludes that the Scarlet Magazine amused the public while establishing an alternative discourse on Chinab s modernization, which restores the complexity of modern Chinese literature.