“예술의 정치화”의 관점에서 본 옌안 문예좌담회의 의미

Abstract

This paper interprets the historical meaning of the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art in 1942 in the light of Walter Benjamin’s proposition regarding “politicizing art.” Focusing on the “Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art” which summarizes the conclusion of the talks, this paper examines what ‘politics’ meant in the cultural discourse in Yan’an. By claiming that art should serve politics, the “Talks” argues that art should belong to the people and represent the class interest of the people. This claim resonates with what Benjamin means by “politicization of art.” In order for the “politicization of art,” the “Talks” demands that writers should transform themselves and stand in the position of the people, which in turn concur with Benjamin’s argument in “The Author as Producer.” Probably due to its unfailing message addressed to writers, the “Talks” has been associated with the political oppression of art in socialist China. This paper argues that, in the “Talks,” the idea of “subordination of literature and art to politics” means that literature and art should be subordinate to the people, the historically rising class, not that the Communist Party can intervene in cultural matters or control writers. The latter problem should be discussed in different terms.