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

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

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, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

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 10 or ...

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

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. 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 Cheng Fangwu (; August 24, 1897 – 17 May 1984) was a top level politician in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Before joining the party, he was active as an author of the new literature and a translator. After joining the CCP, he quickly rose ...

Yu Dafu Yu Wen, better known by his courtesy name Yu Dafu (December 7, 1896 – September 17, 1945) was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet. He was one of the new literary group initiators, and this new literary group was named the Creation Soc ...

and Zhang Ziping. 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 and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

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

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Zhang Dinghuang Zhang Dinghuang (1895–1986), also known as Zhang Fengju was a Chinese–American antiquarian, Linguistics, literary critic, poet, and translator. He was born in Nanchang and is an expert in antique manuscripts. Zhang was a supporting but key f ...

'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

'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 Xie Wanying (; October 5, 1900 – February 28, 1999), better known by her pen name Bing Xin () or Xie Bingxin, was one of the most prolific Chinese women writers of the 20th century. Many of her works were written for young readers. She ...

's Superman" and two others by Cheng Fangwu 成仿吾; Miscellaneous included "

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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 Defunct literary magazines published in China Magazines established in 1922 Magazines disestablished in 1924 Magazines published in Beijing Quarterly magazines Defunct Chinese-language magazines