Fiction Monthly
| Editor-in-chief | Yun Tiejiao, Wang Chunnong, Mao Dun |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | Commercial Press, Shanghai |
| First issue | July 1910 |
| Final issue | 1932 |
| Country | China |
| Language | Chinese |
The Fiction Monthly (Chinese: 小说月报) was a Chinese literary journal published by the Commercial Press in Shanghai. First published in July 1910, its original editors were Yun Tieqiao (恽铁樵) and Wang Chunnong (王莼农). In January 1921, Mao Dun (Shen Yanbing) became its chief editor beginning with Volume 10, Issue 1. Fiction Monthly closed its doors in 1932 after the Japanese invasion of Shanghai with their naval and air bombardment (January 28 Incident). Altogether there were 22 volumes or 262 issues, including four specials.
The Fiction Monthly originally published poems and stories in the classical wenyan style, and plays in the new style. Western fiction and plays were also translated into wenyan. The selections included popular love stories and situational novels. Many traditional serial novels were published in the journal. It was an important platform for the traditional scholars.
But they were going against the new literature tide and Mao Dun changed the editorial direction in 1921. He enticed contributors from the "new literature" circles. The January 10 issue proclaimed its "new editorial direction": to translate and critique important European works; develop literature of realism, and use the new literature to reflect the life of ordinary people, also to provide a platform for inquiry into classical literature in the modern context.
Fiction Monthly published novels in abundance, followed by poetry, plays and essays. They included "Duanwu Festival", "Upstairs in a Restaurant", "Social Drama" and other novels by Lu Xun. In the early years, there were short stories by Ye Shengtao (Ye Shaojun), Bingxin, Wang Tongzhao 王统照, Xu Dishan, and others; new literature style poems by Zhu Ziqing, Xu Yunuo 徐玉诺, Zhu Xiang 朱湘, Liang Zongdai, Xu Zhi 徐雉, and others. These works show the bitterness of life and expose the dark side of society, sympathetic to the repressed people.
...
Wikipedia