Modern Chinese literature as a reflection of social processes in the PRC

In the late 1970s - early 1980s the ''scar literature'' or the ''literature of the wounded'' appeared in the PRC, in which an evaluation of the Cultural Revolution took place. The literature of searching for roots'' and the ''new village prose'' appeared. The word ''roots'' (ben) symbolized national cultural traditions. In the 1980s the ''literature of reforms'' was the main topic in the creation of the Chinese writers. Most authors handled ''agitation'' for the reforms. But some progressive writers (Wang Meng, Mo Yan and others) attempted to express the changes taking place in the minds of people, tried to trace the connection between the past and present. They tried to understand how the social and psychological atmosphere in China affected human nature and psychology. Mo Yan's Red Sorghum became a breakthrough in the Chinese literature of the 1980s. After the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989 there were radical changes in the development of Chinese literature. Many authors who were accused of participating in the democratic movement were blacklisted. Their books were withdrawn from sale. As a result, radical Maoists and army writers substituted the progressive writers and literary figures. So literature activity began to depend on the political decisions. In the 1990s Chinese literary life was regulated by hard market realities. There was a clear division of literature into commercial and non-commercial. In the first decade of the twenty-first century many Chinese critics were concerned that a peculiar brand - ''It is forbidden in China'' - appeared in the West. Many young authors began to think that forbidden in China means popular in the West. We can see that the issue of censorship of Chinese literature is still relevant for the public. On the one hand, it helps the Chinese authors to gain recognition in the West. On the other hand, it prevents the writers to openly express their views on the political and social processes taking place in their country. For example, Jiang Rong's novel Wolf Totem (2004) quickly became popular in the West. But in China, the novel was subjected to official criticism. He was called a "liberal", "counter-revolutionary", "traitor" and even "fascist". The authorities were dissatisfied with the hidden appeal of Jiang Rong to political reform and with the author's critical approach to the history of Chinese civilization, from the ancient dynasties to the modern reforms. Thus, we see that in the pre-reform period literature existed in the conditions of "dogmatic culture" and was submitted to the administrative-command settings. Then after the beginning of the reforms (1978) the policy in the field of literature was reoriented towards the market and openness to the outside world. This led to a partial depoliticisation of culture and a decrease of the role of the ideological attitudes. There was a change in the relations between the state and the creator of the cultural product. The artist received certain freedom of creativity and social authority.

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