On the Change of Literary Language and the Development of the Form of Modern Chinese Literature

It is historically significant to study the relationship between the change of literary language and the development of modern Chinese literature. The history of modern Chinese literature is also the history of the change of the Chinese language. The interaction between the change of literary language and the development of the form of modern Chinese literature cannot be reduced to a simple passive adaptation of the literary form to the literary language; the truth is that due to its literariness the literary language has been promoting the development and enrichment of modern Chinese. From the perspective of the relationship between the change of the literary language and the development of the form of modern Chinese literature, we can make some revealing observations on the following issues: in what way and to what degree the movement of vernacular writing directly or indirectly led to the change of the form of modern Chinese literature; and how the literary language in different historical periods influences and determines the basic trend of literary form, its situation and main features. Therefore, the historical pattern of the development of modern Chinese literature can be established.