On the Literary Takeover of Chongqing by “Xiajiang”Writers During the World War II

Abstract

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Nationalist government moved to Chongqing and subsequently established it as the wartime capital to unite in the war. Many party and government officials, industrialists, and writers responded to the call and came to Chongqing one after another. During the war, Chongqing became China’s political, economic, and cultural centre. Among them, the “Xiajiang” writer, who lived in Chongqing as an outsider, greatly changed the urban appearance and inner spirit of Chongqing during the war. He also controlled absolute discourse power in literary imagination and the public domain of literature, which was reflected in a comprehensive literary takeover, transforming the wartime literary celebration into the “Xiajiang” writer’s Chongqing.