Song of the Dark Ages – Brecht in Exile and "Chinese Role Model"

Abstract

A close reading of the works about Chinese elements, Chinese thoughts and Chinese themes created by the German writer Brecht in exile (1933 – 1947) in the 20th century shows that the "Chinese Role Model" had a certain impact on Brecht's artistic creation and life in exile.This influence could be embodied through the creative translation of "exile poet" Bai Juyi, the imaginative processing of "Chinese wise man" Lao Tzu and The Good Man in Sichuan created under the influence of Chinese opera.Put the three together for investigation, we can not only see Brecht's courtesy to Chinese wisdom and recognition of Chinese culture, but also help us to further explore the deep motivation behind it, so as to see how Brecht completed his thinking of survival and art by learning from foreign oriental culture during his 15 year exile life times, which also represents the survival path of the German generation of exiles in that dark era.