In the early 20th century, Expressionism emerged in the German speaking regions of Europe and had a global impact. Its definition was complex, partly due to its broad selection of materials, including Chinese culture. From 1904 to 1931, there were 42 expressionist Chinese themed novels in the German speaking region, divided into three categories: 1) 15 novels with China as the creative theme; 2) Using China as the object of imitation writing, a total of 5 parts; 3) Set against the backdrop of Chinese fables, with Kafka's works as the main focus. This article will analyze these novels and explore the reasons why expressionists in the German speaking region drew inspiration from China in the early 20th century.

1、 A review of three types of expressionist Chinese themed novels

This article reviews 42 expressionist Chinese themed novels published between 1904 and 1931, including 3 long novels, 2 medium length novels, 1 collection of fables, and 36 short stories. The authors of these works come from traditional German speaking or non German speaking areas with German ethnic settlements, and they have made achievements in various fields such as novels and essays. Except for Ehrenstein and Krabband, who can be clearly labeled as Expressionists, Expressionism is only the dominant style of the other five writers at different stages. Most of these works have not been translated into Chinese, only Kafka's 13 short stories have Chinese translations.

2、 China as the theme of creation

The chapter on Chinese themes and stories in German expressionist novels explores how three German writers, Debrin, Krabband, and Ehrenstein, use China as their creative theme. These works integrate rich knowledge of Sinology and Chinese literary and cultural resources, showcasing the authors' deep understanding of Chinese culture while conveying their viewpoints and ideas. These novels have both the characteristics of historical novels and elements of fictional novels, totaling fifteen. Among them, Debrin's "The Three Jumps of Wang Lun" is the most important representative work. Debrin's creative technique is unique, as he incorporates Chinese materials into his novel techniques and sharply criticizes current problems and society. The commonality of expressionist literary texts is the manifestation of a profound 'crisis of authority', handling the intense conflict between 'father and son', absorbing psychoanalytic theory, and discovering that the family is also a place for exercising 'power and authority'. Debrin and Ehrenstein chose ancient Chinese uprising stories, and expressionist literature also has a tendency towards "radical cultural criticism and criticism of current problems", criticizing the modernization process and its accompanying phenomena such as industrialization, urbanization, bureaucratization, and technologization. Narrative works are committed to breaking away from traditional narrative modes, deviating from the author's omniscient perspective, setting anti purposive plots, and thematically depicting the decline of human nature and extreme situations. Casimir Edschmidt believed that the sentences in expressionist literary works form a "huge spiritual chain" that transcends national boundaries and exists in all eras, regions, and religions. Debrin's creation breaks through the boundaries of traditional novels, creating a cubic symmetrical structure that does not rely on passionate waves, allowing the expression of monuments to grow organically and continuously. The China depicted in his writings is a vast landscape, devoid of any description, all based on perception; Without any depiction, all is understanding; There is no record at all, everything gathers into a picture. Debrin's creative materials cover a wide range, including ancient civilizations such as China, India, Babylon, Greenland, etc. He calls his creations a "closed door journey". Before creating "Wang Lun's Three Jumps", Debrin read a large number of literature and works related to China, almost searching through libraries and archives in Berlin. He communicated with Martin Buber, the German translator of texts such as Zhuangzi and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, inquiring about matters related to Taoist philosophy. Krabang's "The Last Emperor" was inspired by the end of the Qing dynasty's imperial system. At the age of only sixteen, the Chinese emperor Guangxu lived a seemingly luxurious and prestigious life, but in reality, he was isolated and helpless, constantly subject to the influence of Empress Dowager Cixi. Like Debrin, Krabband's creations are based on historical facts in China and Western reports about the Qing Dynasty at that time. Krabang's creative pursuit is not to accurately reproduce history, but to use the "Chinese style" outer robe to interpret "fables with Western thought as the core". Krabond's "The Poet and the Emperor: A Chinese Fairy Tale" is more directly influenced by the 1917 "Open Letter to Emperor William II" incident, and the actions and situations of the protagonist in the novel are entirely a projection of Krabond's real-life experiences. Krabond's' The Yellow Man 'may seem absurd and difficult to interpret, but it actually leaves several clues for readers, implying Krabond's condemnation of Western imperialist policies. Krabang also portrayed the communication dilemma between Eastern and Western civilizations in "The 99 Returns of Buddha". He not only inherited the tradition of civic criticism that was consistent with expressionism, but also went on to criticize narrow nationalist thinking. Ellen Stein's "Tai Jin" was influenced by the political situation in late Qing China, but its Western modern novel characteristics, especially those of German language cultivation novels and stream of consciousness novels, are more prominent. The protagonist of the story, the young emperor of China and the empress dowager who ruled by his son, are allusions to Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi, while the protagonist's growth model is modeled after the development model of the protagonist in German literary novels. The novel is mixed with cultural factors from different regions such as China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. At first glance, it may seem like the author misuses Eastern elements, but in fact, it is the author's intentional act. Ellen Stein deliberately writes without segmentation, with the longest paragraph even being a page long, in order to highlight the difference between subjective time and objective time passing during the flow of consciousness. Krabang's "Twenty Four Fables" reflects the author's acceptance of Taoist thought. The two characters in the fable collection who engage in dialogue are Seth and Li, and the consistency of the comparison between Chinese and Western civilizations is reflected solely in their names.

3、 Chinese literature as a copy of imitation writing

Explored the phenomenon of using Chinese literary texts as imitations in German expressionist novels. Ellen Stein's works, such as "The Bandit and the Soldier" and its radio adaptation "The Just Murderer," are based on the Chinese episodic novel "Water Margin. He also wrote the novella "The Four Wives of the Loyal Liang" and two collections of short stories titled "Four Strange Stories" and "Four Stories of Pu Songling". These works are based on the foundation of Chinese literature, and their content mostly follows the original work. The Four Stories of Strange Tales "combines stories from the Warring States period to the Ming Dynasty, while" The Four Stories of Pu Songling "includes stories from" Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio ". During the rewriting process, Ehrenstein translated Chinese stories into Western modern novels based on his personal understanding, injecting Western cultural elements. His creations are not just translations, but 'creative rebellions' that give his works a new face and enable them to engage in new literary exchanges with German speaking readers. These works represent three approaches taken by German speaking writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries to respond to their own country's reality by delving into Chinese history, presenting different answers from writers with different stances.

4、 China as the Background of Fables

This paper probes into the works of German expressionist novels with China as the allegorical background, such as Kafka's When the Great Wall of China was Built and Chinese People Visited. These works do not focus on the specific details of time, space, and culture in China, but rather treat China as a purely imaginative space. Compared with the first two types of works, these novels have the lowest understanding and accuracy of China. Kafka's short stories hold an important position in Chinese studies, as their works depict the unique circumstances of modern people. In these novels, Chinese elements are often only a medium for conveying the author's viewpoint, rather than the main theme of the writing. Other works, such as Hilbart's Weather Prophet: A Chinese Story, Koztolani's The Chinese, and Klaus' The Great Wall of China, also take China as the background, but they focus on the fear of materialism, national contradictions, Christian morality and other issues of the western intellectual class. These works have certain similarities in their creative intentions with novels based on China, but there are significant differences in their understanding and focus on Chinese culture.

5、 The motivation for expressionist writers to draw inspiration from China

The preference of European expressionist writers for Chinese themes in the early 20th century is closely related to the economic, political, and cultural and educational backgrounds between Germany and China. After Germany's unification in the late 19th century, it developed a strong interest in China, an ancient Eastern culture, and regarded it as another example of civilization. With the strengthening of economic ties between the two countries, the dependence of German industry on the Chinese market has been increasing, and this relationship reached its peak before World War I. Meanwhile, the relationship between Germany and China at the national level is complex, with both mutual benefits and direct conflicts.

6、 Conclusion

Discussed the use of Chinese themes in German expressionist novels and the motivations behind them. Expressionism, as an important art movement in the German speaking region of the 20th century, opposed traditional artistic paradigms and social realities. Its interest in Chinese culture reflected criticism of modern Western civilization, yearning for utopia, and emphasis on spiritual culture. This interest not only continues the traditional Western view of China, but also demonstrates a new generation of breakthroughs. The author emphasizes that cultural integration and development from the perspective of variation studies are important paths for cultural innovation. Expressionist novelists have provided Europeans with new ways of thinking and spirit by absorbing and rewriting Chinese culture.