From Irony to Lyrical Expression: The Evolution of Personal-National Relations in Lao She's Wartime Writings

During the War against Japannese Aggression, Lao She's novels underwent a stylistic transformation, shifting from irony to lyrical expression. His plays and fiction of this period focused intensely on how ordinary people participated in the Great Era of resistance and nation-building, exploring how the war reconfigured the relationship between individuals and the nation-state. After the outbreak of the War, Lao She reshaped the images of intellectual youth, soldiers, and urban citizens, uncovering their latent strength. He paid particular attention to how ordinary people developed a concept of the nation and how concrete personal-national bonds were forged. Within the shadows of War and the fabric of daily life, he rendered the abstract nation tangible and relatable. Confronting the aggressors, Lao She sought to awaken national consciousness among his compatriots while simultaneously critiquing narrow nationalism, envisioning an internally pluralistic-yet-integrated nation externally engaged in an equal and cooperative global community. Through cultural critique, he reflected on the overripeness of traditional and Beiping culture, calling for a revitalized Eastern culture to rebuild both nation and world. This approach also partially circumvented the ideological conflicts prevalent during World War II.