Republican Period , which lied in the period of 1912-1949 A.D. in China, when is the last splendid phase of Chinese Lyrics, it succeeded to the prosperity of Lyrics in Ching Dynasty. When it comes to divisions of Lyrics , colonies of Lyricists, associations of Lyrics , Theories of Lyricism, Collections of Lyrics, and bibliographies of Lyricism , this very period revealed unprecedented system and occasion. In spite of being impacted by the May Fourth Movement (Chinese national renewal movement that started with 4th May 1919 protest against the Treaty of Versailles) , old forms of Poem and Lyrics was in the state of being marginalized , which was almost expelled from the mainstream of literature. Nevertheless, over the past 20 years of efforts made by the scholars , the excavation and rearrangement toward emerged the thesis and the view of Lyrics conducted in Republican Period, which are rather more extensive and thorough than the previous dynasty. associations of Lyrics are the organizations which lyricists corresponded synchronously and learned through discussions about the Lyricism. This thesis discussed thoroughly associations of Lyrics in Republican Period through regional aspects so as to emphasize the inheritance and changes within associations of Lyrics in the same region. This will benefit to understanding the developmental track of the entire associations of Lyrics in Republican Period , and even it will advantage to study the circle of Lyricism in Republican Period, the history of in Republican Period as well as that of China.
This thesis divides into seven sections : introduction, the association of Lyrics in Shanghai , the association of Lyrics in Nanjing , the associations of Lyrics in Tianjin , the associations of Lyrics in Jiangsu(except Nanjing), other associations of Lyrics , and conclusion.
Introduction accounts for the motivation and purpose of study and it overviews the characteristics of the history in Republican Period, the colonies of Lyricists in Republican Period , the characteristics of the associations of Lyrics in Republican Period along with the meanings of study, and relevant topics of the associations of Lyrics in Republican Period. Then, this body of introduction explains the definition of the associations of Lyrics in Republican Period , generalizing the developments of the associations of Lyrics into three phases , and summaries 33 professional associations of Lyrics in Republican Period. Within the 33 associations, there were 16 discussed in the thesis on account of sufficient publications or compositions by the associations. In the end of the introduction , it brings up
the ranges and methods of study, reviews the results of study in the circle of academy , and generalizes the contents of each chapter.
The main body of this thesis is to discuss the 16 associations in 7 districts, ,including Shanghai, Nanjing , Tianjin, Jiangsu Province(except Nanjing), Sichuan Province, Anhui Province and Wenzhou. It also discusses in details 4 categories in the sequential orders of establishment of the above associations. The 4 categories are as follow : (1) the origin of associations of Lyrics (2) the time, founder, name , and members of the associations (3) the activities of the associations (4) the topics of the works of Lyrics
The purpose is to present traditional literatis living, attitude and aspect ruled by the governments rotating between old and new systems and cultures as well as thoughts through
the activities engaged in individual associations. It also magnifies lyricists care for the country and shift in their mind in the suffering from wars caused by warlords along with the difficulty resulting from invasion of Japan.
Conclusion divides two sections. The former part concludes the study result of the thesis, which clarifies that lyricist in Shanghai are the remaining citizens of the previous dynasty of Ching , who immigrated from other areas. The works of lyrics here revealed the sorrow caused by drifting in a foreign land and destruction of the previous dynasty . Faced with the invasion of Japan, the lyricists in Shanghai turned to record history through writing lyrics and aroused the feeling of patriotism. The association of Lyrics in Nanjing combined the common views of the entire campus and responses to a poem with a poem within literati. The works of lyrics here consist of retrospect and sightseeing in the historic sites of Nanjing , reminiscence of the late history of Ming Dynasty as well . As for the two associations in Tianjin and Jiangsu Province(except Nanjing), the works of lyrics in these two places stirred up the retrospect for the previous dynasty, which caused by difficulty of the wars among warlords and Second Sino-Japanese War . They not only expressed dissatisfaction with the current affairs but also stated the historical memories and feelings of remaining citizens. The associations of lyrics in Sichuan Province, Anhui Province and Wenzhou, the works conducted by them are more diversified ; they included sightseeing in landscapes , national turbulence, personal background , yearning and pain of separation among loves, and so on. The latter part narrates insufficiency in this thesis, which mainly derived from failure to collect the original materials of many associations of lyrics. The thesis ends in proposing the prospect for later study of the associations of lyrics in Republican Period .