Prior to the Yan’an Rectification Campaign, Ding Ling had very strong “airs of litterateur” in Mao Zedong’s eyes, a “literati temperament” with strong personality and critical spirit that seemed incompatible with the mainstream collectivist ideology dominating in times of wars in Yan’an. Ding’s settled “airs of litterateur” motivated her to write a series of critical essays and initiate a Yan’an new trend of literature and art under the guideline of the “May4th” enlightenment with Liberation Daily . Literature and Art as her stronghold. This Yan’an new trend of literature and art led by Ding Ling was, however, thoroughly denied and criticized in the following rectification and cadre investigation campaigns in Yan’an. Although Ding didn’t suffer cruel torment like Wang Shiwei, she had to make every attempt to get rid of her “airs of litterateur” in an active and initiative manner. Ding’s “sudden ideological change” in Yan’an was made forcedly, but more importantly she did this mostly to pander, resulting from a radical change of her leftist literary thought in that special historical context.

Ding Ling; airs of litterateur; Yan’an Rectification Campaign