The Birth of Chinese New Poetry in the May 4th Period in a Polysystemic Perspective

The May 4th Chinese New Literature, especially Chinese New Poetry, has been greatly influenced by translated literature. From the perspective of Polysystem theory, the translated poetry, being the core of the translated literature in May 4th period, helped to break the writing mode of traditional Chinese poetry. Consequently, it played an important role in the collapse of Chinese traditional cultural paradigm as well as the birth of a new cultural system. Those like Hu Shi, Liang Shiqiu and Guo Moruo are all new poets, whose writing of new poetry is closely related to their translating foreign poetry. In short, translated poetry is the main force of the birth of Chinese New poetry.