Ti ofeev’s legiti tion of t linist soci list re lis c n be seen in the series of Vietnamese theoretical books published in 1962, which are ữ lí về Lí l ậ V ọc (Principles of
Literary Criticism), Tác p V ọc (Literary Works) and L t V ọc (Literary Genres
These books were written by Lê Đình K n inh Đ c n bec e the manuals for university students. Another book which demonstrates Stalinist socialist realism is L V ọc (Principles of Literature 65 which w s written by sever l niversity professors ( inh Đ c Ng yễn Vịnh Ng yễn Văn ạnh n Lê Bá án among others) in North Vietnam.39 Again, Reflection Theory was mentioned as the ideological foundation for literary criticism:
The philosophical foundation for properly apprehending the relationship between literature and reality is the Marxist–Leninist Reflection Theory. It is a theory which explains the origins and forms of perception as well as the human capability of pprehen ing re lity […] n beings re bsol tely ble to pprehen it or in other words, to get to the essence of the world and underst n the worl ’s oper tion principles in order to better it.40
39
It was reprinted in 1974 under a new title Cơ L l ậ V ọc (Introduction to Literary Criticism and
Theory Vol Giáo ục P blishers
40
inh Đ c et l Cơ L l ậ V ọc (Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory Vol ( noi Giáo ục P blishers 7 5 Origin l text in Vietn ese “Cơ s triết học để giải q yết đúng đ n ối q n h giữ văn học v hi n thực l phản ánh l n c ch ngh ác – Lênin Đ l l l n v ng ồn gốc c nh n th c v hình th c c q á trình nh n th c v khả năng nh n th c thế giới c con người (… Con
30
The book also points out the value of a literary work is defined by how exactly it reflects reality, how it helps readers to acknowledge the objective truth, and how it promotes social progress. Marxist–Leninist socialism is mentioned as the ideological foundation for writers to get to the essence of re lity n to cq ire “tr thf lness” in their works n the book tí c â t ật (truthfulness) is presented as one of the most important standards of literature. It is defined as “the reflection of the essence n principles of re lity in other wor s the reflection of tr ths” n it is “concentr te into typic l ch r cters n sit tions” 41 owever s in Ti ofeev’s book the authors also use Reflection Theory to legitimate Stalinist socialist realism. The book explains “p rty spirit” “cl ss spirit” n “the sses’ spirit” s in ispens ble q lities of soci list re lism. These principles reflect the fact that Stalinist socialist realism is nothing other than a strategy to make literature become a tool of politics.
The efinition of soci list re lis in J A C on’s A Dictionary of Literary Terms and
Literary Theory might be considered as one of the best definitions for this term so far:
By the ti e of the first oviet riter’s Congress of soci list re lis e erge in n atmosphere of Stalinist repression of all other factions, as the victorious official Party aesthetic, sanctioned by Maxim Gorky, N. Bukharin and A. A. Zhdanov, Secretary of the Centr l Co ittee for “i eology” Zh nov efine soci list re lis s the portr y l of “re lity in its revol tion ry evelop ent” ch rt he rg e st contrib te to the project of ideological transformation and education of the working class. Other features of socialist realism, as designed by its various proponents, were an emphasis on factuality,
người ho n to n c thể nh n th c được thế giới ngh l thâ nh p v o bản chất c thế giới n được những q y l t v n động c thế giới để cải tạo thế giới”.
41
Ibid, 57, 73, 76. Original text in Vietnamese: “Giá trị c ột tác phẩ ngh th t được q yết định ch (… n phản ánh đúng đ n đến c n o hi n thực khách q n giúp cho người t nh n th c đến c n o chân l c ộc sống tác động đến c n o c ng c ộc cải tạo c ộc sống” (57). “Do đ nh văn phải c thế giới q n đúng đ n để c thể phản ánh hi n thực đúng đ n Thế giới q n” đ chính l ch ngh ác – Lê nin (… Tính chân th t l sự phản ánh bản chất v q y l t c hi n thực t c l phản ánh được chân l c ộc sống” (73). “Tính chân th t được nâng c o v t p tr ng nhất th nh tính điển hình c những tính cách v ho n cảnh” (76).
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the integration of scientific and technical detail, the application of later 19th century realist techniques to Soviet heroes, and the literary projection of a socialist future. oci list re lis tr ce its thority b ck thro gh Lenin’s notions of parinost (partisanship) and literature as reflection of reality to the statements of Marx and Engels the selves especi lly Engel’s co ents on the i port nce of expressing “typic l” individuals and forces. But this alleged lineage is somewhat misleading. While Marx and Engels certainly saw literature as performing an ideological function, they stressed it highly e i te connection with econo ic for tions n Engels spoke of its “rel tive tono y” t is tr e th t they both pr ise re lis b t they i not centr lize it in ny coherent interventionist for l tion […] t w s only with Lenin and Trosky that literature was ascribed an interventionist and partisan function in a broader revolutionary approach. But the interventionism championed by both men was highly complex and flexible, qualified by its reference to particular historical circumstances.42
It is evident that, originally, socialist realism is not much different from realism which is “a mode of writing that gives the impression of recording or reflecting faithfully an actual way of life. The term refers, sometimes confusingly, both to a literary method based on detailed accuracy of description (i.e. Verisimilitude) and to a more general attitude that rejects idealization, escapism, and other extravagant qualities of romance in favour of recognizing soberly the actual problem of life”43. All theories of re lis incl ing soci list re lis “rest on the ss ption th t the novel imitates reality, and that that reality is more or less stable and commonly accessible. But it is possible to conceive of the relationship between art and reality in terms of imaginative creation r ther th n i it tion”44. Socialist realism and others pursue is not the accurate imitation of an objective reality but an imaginative truth. What makes socialist realism different from other
42
Cuddon, 664.
43 Chris Baldick, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, 2nd edn (Oxford University Press, 2001),
199.
44
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theories of re lis is th t it only foc ses on re lity “in its revol tion ry evelop ent” There is nothing necessarily or inherently mono–voiced about the notion of socialist realism (Brecht, for ex ple owever fter Lenin’s e th Joseph t lin45, during his reign, distorted and monopolized socialist realism to become the sole doctrine for literati. In the meeting with writers t Gorky’s ho se (October t lin s i “An rtist sho l first of ll show o r life tr thf lly f he complies with the task he will not fail to single out the factors which lead us to socialism. This I sho l c ll soci l rt soci list re lis ” 46
As e onstr te in t lin’ speech on soci list re lis n Ti ofeev’s Principles of Literary
Criticism, t linist soci list re lis v l es “tr th” n rel te ter s s ch s “tr thf lness” n
“sincerity” owever these v l es were pre eter ine by the P rty spirit A liter ry work wo l be only “tr thf l” n “sincere” if it confor e to the P rtys’s octrine Socialist realism, therefore, became the instrument to control intellectuals and maintain the dependence of literature and arts on politics Along with the influence of the USSR, Stalinist socialist realism became extremely influential in Vietnam from 1945 to 1986.