Vol. 2 No. 3

Research Articles

The "Drama" Construction of Modern Poetry: On the Poetic Drama Art of Guo Moruo and Hai Zi

Published 2026-09-30

  • Ruodong Gao

Ruodong Gao
Hong Kong Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hong Kong, China

Abstract

In the process of modern development and transformation, traditional Chinese dramatic literature and poetics have undergone intense upheavals and repeated explorations. Ultimately, this traditional art form, poetic drama, which originated in the classical era, has continuously refined its creative theories and constructed its writing ecosystem, even achieving a new life, following the fluctuations in the intellectual trends and linguistic shifts of "drama" and "poetry." Looking at the Chinese literary scene of the 20th century, the May Fourth Movement and the period following it can be considered the beginning and first peak of modern poetic drama, while the decade or so after the Reform and Opening Up period can be seen as its vigorous revival and second peak. Within these two historical stages, Guo Moruo, imbued with the spirit of the times and the nation, and Hai Zi, who created the romantic "grand poetry" style, are prominent representatives, respectively. A systematic study of their literary and artistic thought and an exploration of their poetic drama texts will be of great significance in enriching the value map of Chinese literature.

Keywords

Chinese poetics, Dramatic literature, Poetic drama art, Cultural thought

PDF

References

  1. Shi Jianqiao, “Qu Yuan’s ‘Heavenly Questions’ draws on and transcends the structural pattern of songs and poems”, Journal of Hebei Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), No. 3, 2011, p. 94.
  2. Xu Dajun, “The Power of Nature: Exploring the Path of Value Reconstruction in Modern Yuan Zaju”, Literary Studies, No. 12, 2025, p. 85.
  3. Shi Yihui, “Education, Literature, Life, and History: Four Dimensions of the “Scholarship” in Ming Dynasty Drama”, Research on Ancient Literary Theory, No. 1, 2024, p. 255.
  4. Zhang Xuqiang, “From Homer to Solon: The application of the theory of “oral tradition” in the study of early Greek history”, Journal of Historiography and Historiography, No. 1, 2021, p. 171.
  5. Zhang Yuneng, “Schiller’s Dramatic Aesthetics: Drama and Humanity”, Journal of Journalism and Communication Review, No. 6, 2014, p. 131.
  6. Zhang Hongqian and Hu Fanzhu, “The Historical Contribution of Modern Drama to the Institutionalization of Modern Chinese Language: An Examination Based on Classical Grammar Works”, Journal of Shanghai Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), No. 5, 2025, p. 91.
  7. Yu Kexun, Contemporary Literature: Construction and Interpretation, Hubei: Wuhan University Press, 2005, p. 126.
  8. Wang Dongdong, “Chinese Modernism as a Democratic Culture: Re-understanding Yuan Kejia’s Theory of Modernization of New Poetry”, Jianghan Academic Journal, No. 5, 2022, p. 84.
  9. Zhang Hui, “ From ‘New School Poetry’ to Poetry Revolution : Sino-Japanese Poetic Exchange and Late Qing Poetry Transformation ”, Journal of Suzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), No. 4, 2025, p. 134.
  10. Lin Chen, “The Revival of Modern Poetic Drama: T.S. Eliot’s Poetic Drama Theory and Practice”, International Comparative Literature (Chinese and English) , No. 8 , 2025 , p. 137.
  11. Sun Shiyuan, “Version changes of “Thirty Years of Modern Chinese Literature” and exploration and development of literary history writing, Journal of Modern Chinese Literature Studies, No. 4, 2024, p. 245.
  12. Cao Shunqing and Wang Mengru , “ The Development and Prospect of the Chinese School of Comparative Literature”, International Comparative Literature (Chinese and English) , No. 4, 2025 , p. 61.
  13. Guo Moruo, Collected Works of Guo Moruo (Volume 3), Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House, 1957, p. 164.
  14. Dong Huichuan, “Striving to Create Other Forms: The Stylistic Characteristics of Lu Xun’s Modern Poetic Dramas”, Journal of Henan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), No. 5, 2018, p. 126.
  15. Lan Jiaqi, “Isomorphism between Language and Existence: The Creative Logic and Practical Approach of Hölderlin’s Tragedy”, Journal of Art Theory and Art History, No. 2, 2024, p. 360.
  16. Li Yingrui, “The Philosophical Foundation of Marx’s Modern State View of Revolution and Its Contemporary Value: An Examination Centered on the German Ideology”, Marxist Studies, No. 2, 2026, p. 72.
  17. Chen Wenbing, “On the Creative Characteristics of Guo Moruo’s Poetic Dramas”, Journal of Zhejiang Normal University (Social Sciences Edition), No. 1, 2003, p. 7.
  18. Zhang Wendong and Kan Haoxiang , “Reaffirming the Poetic Essence of Art and Poetic Art Criticism”, Journal of National Art Studies, No. 6, 2025, p. 24.
  19. Yang Honghai and Yue Qiaoyun, “The Integration of Modernity and Nationality: Aesthetic Characteristics of Modern Chinese Poetic Drama”, Journal of Wuhan University of Technology (Social Sciences Edition), No. 4, 2024, p. 113.
  20. Su Ning, “On the Influence of Faust on Guo Moruo’s Poetic Drama”, Journal of Modern Chinese Literature Studies, No. 4, 1983, p. 111.
  21. Wei Mingxing, “ How “Realism” Faces “Life”: The Art Revolution and the Emergence of Realism in New Literature ” , Literary Review, No. 1, 2026, p. 107.
  22. Sun Tengfang, “On Guo Moruo’s Poetic Drama during the May Fourth Movement”, Hebei Journal, No. 6, 1987, p. 50.
  23. Dai Jinhua, “Academic Summary at the Closing Ceremony of the Third National Youth Literature and Art Forum”, Literary Theory and Criticism, No. 1, 2015, p. 40.
  24. Huang Houxing, A Study on Guo Moruo’s Literary Thought, Tianjin: Tianjin People’s Publishing House, 1985, p. 34.
  25. Liu Zimeng and Gao Yunrong , “Poetry and Drama as One: A Brief Discussion on Modern Poetry in Guo Moruo’s Historical Dramas”, Drama House, No. 20, 2021, p. 8.
  26. Bao Changbao, “Mu Dan and the Bible: A Discussion of Mu Dan’s Three Poetic Dramas”, Chinese Comparative Literature, No. 4, 2001, p. 14.
  27. Zhai Mangui, “A Brief Discussion on Qu Yuan’s ‘Heavenly Questions’ and Liu Zongyuan’s ‘ Heavenly Answers ’ ”, Cultural Heritage, No. 2, 2009, p. 130.
  28. Yuan Yuning and Feng Chao, “The Intertextual Construction of the Relationship between Man and God in Guo Moruo’s Goddess: Taking the Three Poetic Dramas of Goddess Rebirth, Xiang Lei and Tangdi Flower as the Center”, Journal of Guo Moruo Studies, No. 4, 2022, p. 53.
  29. Chen Jingxia, “Zhu Fenghan: The profound influence of Chinese families on society originates in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties”, China Reading Weekly, March 25, 2026, p. 7.
  30. Cui Hailiang, “From ‘Theory of Breaking’ to ‘Theory of Soil’: The Deepening of the Understanding of the Relationship between Marxism and Traditional Chinese Culture in the New Enlightenment Movement”, Modern Philosophy, No. 1, 2026, p. 51.
  31. Zhu Xinyu, “Reconstructing “Civilized China”: The Turning Point in Chinese Intellectual History in the 1980s”, Confucius Studies, No. 1, 2026, p. 94.
  32. Gao Xue, “The Sun Temple of Babylon—Hai Zi’s Seven Books on the Sun ” , Journal of Ocean University of China (Social Sciences Edition), No. 6, 2009, p. 87.
  33. Sun Shaozhen, “A Critique of the American New Criticism: Close Reading”, Chinese Comparative Literature, No. 2, 2011, p. 65.
  34. Fu Feiliang, “A Comparison of the Poetics of Collins Brooks and Yuri Tennyanov”, Chinese and Foreign Culture and Literary Theory, No. 1, 2016, p. 60.
  35. He Zhaotian, “Lyrical and temporal understanding in the epic fever of the 1980s as a problem—focusing on Hai Zi, Yang Lian and Jiang He”, Literature and Art Criticism, No. 11, 2024, p. 139.
  36. K. Wales, A Dictionary of Stylistics . London: Longman, 1989, p. 295.
  37. Sun Shaozhen, “The Dilemma of Language-Centered Theory in Western Literary Theory and the Historical Mission of the Rise of Chinese Literary Theory”, Chinese Literature Review, No. 1, 2024, p. 126.
  38. Zhou Hailin, “Hai Zi’s ‘Sun’ Series of Long Poems and the Transformation of His Poetic Concepts”, Journal of Anqing Normal University (Social Sciences Edition), No. 7, 2008, p. 29.
  39. Feng Qiang, “Is Hai Zi a ‘Third Generation Poet’? — A Rethinking of Rewriting the History of Poetry”, Contemporary Literature, No. 2, 2025, p. 130.
  40. Li Zhangbin, Breaking Out of the Myth of Language: A Collection of Essays on Modern Chinese Poetry, Jiangsu: Nanjing University Press, 2023, p. 78.
  41. Wan Xiaoxian, “The Abyss of Saintly Complex and the Path to Redemption in Hai Zi’s Poetry”, Jianghan Academic Journal, No. 2, 2018, p. 18.
  42. Liu Shihhan, “A Brief Discussion on Hai Zi and His Poetry’s Exploration of Life”, Chinese Artists, No. 3, 2022, p. 49.
  43. Zhang Qinghua, “Village, Land, Earth, Homeland : The Basic Motifs and Aesthetic Foundation of Hai Zi’s Poetry”, Literature and Art Criticism, No. 6, 2019, p. 145.
  44. Xu Jingya, A Grand View of Chinese Modernist Poetry Groups: 1986-1989, Shanghai: Tongji University Press, 1988, p. 506.
  45. Gao Jinyu, “ The Divided World and Its Reconciliation: On the “Thing” in T.S. Eliot’s Early Philosophy and Poetics”, Foreign Literature Review, No. 3, 2024, p. 148.
  46. Tang Xiaolin, “The Myth of Haizi Should Cool Down,” Literary Free Talk, No. 5, 2013, p. 34.
  47. Jiang Hongwei, “Chronological Biography of Hai Zi”, Dongwu Academic Journal, No. 1, 2021, p. 146.