The Fiction Monthly was a Chinese literary journal published by the Commercial Press in Shanghai. First published in July 1910, its original editors were Yun Tieqiao and Wang Chunnong. In January 1921, Mao Dun became its chief editor beginning with Volume 10, Issue 1. Fiction Monthly closed its doors in 1932 after the Japanese invasion of Shanghai with their naval and air bombardment. Altogether there were 22 volumes or 262 issues, including four specials.
Publication history
The Fiction Monthly originally published poems and stories in the classical wenyan style, and plays in the new style. Western fiction and plays were also translated into wenyan. The selections included popular love stories and situational novels. Many traditional serial novels were published in the journal. It was an important platform for the traditional scholars. But they were going against the new literature tide and Mao Dun changed the editorial direction in 1921. He enticed contributors from the "new literature" circles. The January 10 issue proclaimed its "new editorial direction": to translate and critique important European works; develop literature of realism, and use the new literature to reflect the life of ordinary people, also to provide a platform for inquiry into classical literature in the modern context.
Creative works
Fiction Monthly published novels in abundance, followed by poetry, plays and essays. They included "Duanwu Festival", "Upstairs in a Restaurant", "Social Drama" and other novels by Lu Xun. In the early years, there were short stories by Ye Shengtao, Bing Xin, Wang Tongzhao 王统照, Xu Dishan, and others; new literature style poems by Zhu Ziqing, Xu Yunuo 徐玉诺, Zhu Xiang 朱湘, Liang Zongdai, Xu Zhi 徐雉, and others. These works show the bitterness of life and expose the dark side of society, sympathetic to the repressed people. After 1923 other famous writers' works include Wang Tongzhao's "Dusk"《黄昏》, Zhang Wentian's "Travels"《旅途》, Lao She's novel Old Zhang's Philosophy《老张的哲学》, and poetry such as Zhu Ziqing's "Destruction" 《毁灭》, Ye Shaojun's "Liuhe battlefield"《浏河战场》 and Zhu Xiang's "Wang Jiao"《王娇》. In 1927 there were more early works by authors who became famous, Mao Dun's novels Disillusion 幻灭, Wavering《动摇》, and Pursuit《追求》; Ding Ling's first novelDream《梦珂》 and her early work Miss Sophia's Diary, Ba Jin's Destruction 《灭亡》; plus works by new writers Hu Yepin, Shen Congwen, Dai Wangshu, Shi Zhecun, Sun Xizhen 孙席珍、Zhang Tianyi, and others. All of these writings gave a rich picture of life in China during the early 20th century from a panoramic perspective and a variety of viewpoints. The sense of realism was very strong.
Translations
The Fiction Monthly published some 800 articles about literature from 39 countries including over 300 authors. Translations by Geng Jizhi 耿济之 in 1921 include Russian realism such as:
Fiction Monthly provided a forum for critical reviews as a means to form the philosophical and technical foundations for the new vernacular literature. Fortunately Lu Xun was not only a gifted writer but also an eloquent critic and reviewer. Both he and his brother Zhou Zuoren authored many reviews and essays about writing in the journal. Shen Yanshui, the editor, himself wrote a number of important theoretical essays on the new literature, including "Responsibility and Hard Work for the New Literature" 《新文学研究者的责任与努力》、"The future of Creativity" 《创作的前途》、"Social Background and Creativity" 《社会背景与创作》、"Naturalism and Contemporary Chinese Fiction" 《自然主义与中国现代小说》 and more. The journal from time to time provided special columns for discussion of theoretical issues. Spirited disagreements flourished in these columns as well as in the reviews and essays. The antagonists would respond in alternative issues. These proved to be irresistible to writers and scholars of the time. Some important examples were: "Discussions on Translating Literature" “翻译文学书的讨论”, "Discussions on Europeanization of Literature"、“语体文欧化讨论”、 "Discussions about Creative Works" “创作讨论”，and "Naturalism" “自然主义”、and "Nature of Literature and its Problems" “文学主义问题”。From 1910 to the mid-1930s, the entire written and printed Chinese language was transformed. Fiction Monthly provided a focus on these changes participating fully in the transition by its creative authors and in establishing the framework for the transition from critical and theoretical points of view.
Classical literature
Beginning in 1923, Fiction Monthly provided a special column called "Movement to organize ancient literature and new literature". Additionally there were numerous treatises about classical literature as well as a two-issue Special about "Research into Chinese Literature" 中国文学研究, consisting of 60 articles by 35 authors. The topics included pre-Qin, Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties literature, Tang and Song Dynasty poetry, Yuan Dynasty dramas, Ming and Qing Dynasty novels, and folk literature. Fiction Monthly published classical novels and poems for the first ten years before 1921. It then changed editorial policy to promote the new literature. It had a unique perspective from which to view classical Chinese literature and wenyan. In its entirety, these articles form an important comprehensive collection of research into old traditional Chinese literature even today.
Features
From the beginning, Fiction Monthly presented a certain freshness to the reader. The articles were chosen quickly, accurately, and with multiple dimensions. There were entertaining novels and short stories for a general readership, as well as literary reviews for scholars. The editors had an unerring instinct for what its readers liked. The longer novels were serialized. Even though it did not chase fashionable trends the readers kept on coming back eager for the next issue.
