The Historical Background of Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art
1937 after the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, China * * * production party attached great importance to the cultural construction in the base areas while leading the war. Many intellectuals and writers at home and abroad came to Yan 'an and various base areas. Various literary and art groups have been established and various literary and art publications have been published in these areas. In the democratic atmosphere of the base area, the literary and artistic movement presents an active scene. Writers who came to the base area created a batch of new works, made new progress in thought and art, and mass literary and artistic activities began to flourish. Many rural troupes were also organized in various places to write and perform plays reflecting the life and struggle of the soldiers and civilians in the base area. Mass writing activities also received enthusiastic response, but these achievements could not fully meet the needs of the masses at that time. Writers who come to the base areas from cities are generally unfamiliar with the life of workers, peasants and soldiers, do not understand the language of workers, peasants and soldiers, and the literary forms used by writers are different from the masses of workers, peasants and soldiers in artistic taste and appreciation habits. As for how to overcome these weaknesses, there were still some ideological differences in Yan 'an literary and art circles at that time, such as whether we should first try to express the new life in the base area or serve the "rear area", how to deal with the relationship between praising the bright side of the base area and criticizing its dark side, how to deal with the relationship between the popularization and improvement of literature and art, and whether learning political theory hindered creative mood. After the symposium on literature and art, Mao Zedong made a speech to the teachers and students of Lu Xun College of Literature and Art in Yan 'an, calling on everyone to step out of the "Little Art Heron" and enter the "Great Lu Yi" (referring to the vast social life). The Central Bureaus of all base areas and Party committees at all levels have successively conveyed the spirit of Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art, and made arrangements for literary rectification. Various literary and art organizations and relevant units organize literary and art workers to study documents carefully and conduct self-reflection and self-criticism. Some writers have also published their experiences in this field, such as Li Bo's Regret and Prospect, Shu Qun's Must Transform Yourself, and He Qifang's Transform Yourself and Art.. Lu Xun College of Literature and Art also examined the problems existing in literature and art education. Zhou Yang published The Transformation of Art Education, and Zhang Geng and He Qifang also published On Drama Movement and Drama Technology Education in Border Areas and Literature Education, which investigated the dogmatism bias in literature and art education in the previous period.