''Creation Quarterly (创造季刊)'' was a Chinese literary quarterly

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

founded in 1921 and published between 1922 and 1924.

Publication history

The first issue of "Creation Quarterly" (创造季刊) debuted May 1, 1922 to a lively

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

literary scene.

Guo Moruo Guo Moruo (; November 16, 1892 – June 12, 1978), courtesy name Dingtang (), was a Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official. Biography Family history Guo Moruo, originally named Guo Kaizhen, was born on November ...

and his circle of friends founded the magazine near the end of 1921 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. These young scholars were studying in Japan, soon to return to China. Throughout the summer and fall, Guo Moruo collected manuscripts from his friends in Kyoto and Tokyo. Key players were Guo, Cheng Fangwu, Yu Dafu and

Zhang Ziping Zhang Ziping () (May 24, 1893 – December 2, 1959) was a Chinese writer born in Meixian, Meizhou, Guangdong. He was a very popular author in the 1930s. Biography Zhang received a classical education and, after studying in Japan from 1912, rece ...

. They decried the poor translations and crude writings of the day. "Creation Quarterly" espoused the "new vernacular literature", emphasizing freedom of form, personal fulfillment, and individual style. There is also a strain of

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

harking back to 19th century English writers. Chinese society was changing rapidly with the younger generations embracing western ways. The new vernacular writings found a ready audience.

Representative issue

Volume I, No 4, 1924 was the Shelley Memorial Issue. In the special section on Shelley, there were two reviews by Guo Morou 郭沫若, Xu Zuzheng's 徐祖正 "Three English

Romantic Poets Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18t ...

", Zhang Dinghuang's 张定璜 "Shelley". Creative works include a play and 10 poems by Guo; two short stories by Zhang Ziyping 张资平 "The Focus of Love" and "God's Children"; You Dafu's 郁达夫 "Picking Stone"; and Zhang Dinghuang's 张定璜 "On the Road"; Poems by He Wei 何畏 and Xu Zuzheng 徐祖正. Reviews included "On Miss Bing Xin's Superman" and two others by Cheng Fangwu 成仿吾; Miscellaneous included "

Russian Literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

Guide" translated by He Wei from Moissaye J.Olgin; "Chanson de fleur morte" translated by Wang Duqing 王独清; and 2 articles by Cheng Fangwu 成仿吾.

References

* Feng, Liping (April 1996). "Democracy and Elitism: The May Fourth Ideal of Literature". Modern China (Sage Publications, Inc.) 22 (2): 170–196. . . {{DEFAULTSORT:Contemporary Review 1922 establishments in China 1924 disestablishments in China Literary magazines published in China Defunct magazines published in China Defunct literary magazines Magazines established in 1922 Magazines disestablished in 1924 Magazines published in Beijing Quarterly magazines Chinese-language magazines