Zhdanov and Zhu Quang-qian's Aesthetics: Re-Reading The History of Aesthetics in the West

Zhu Guang-qian seldom mentioned Zhdanov in his writing,but the relationship of Zhdanovism and Zhu was a crucial viewpoint of researching Zhu's aesthetics after 1949.The relationship was like a many-act play: firstly Zhu self-critiqued through Zhdanovism;secondly Zhu critiqued others through Zhdanovism.When Zhu wrote the chapter of the naturalism of Russia in The History of Aesthetics in the West,he alienated Zhdanovism stealthily,which is the climax of this many-act play.It was the complicated relationship of Zhdanovism and Zhu that reflected the conflicts and hesitations of Zhu in the background of discourse in 1950's -1960's China.